PM Gonsalves and Regional Voices Condemn Breach of CARICOM Protocol After Trinidad Minister’s Attack

A photograph of Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves as posted by the Agency for Public Information.

By Val Matthias. Updated 1:56 p.m., Monday, November 17, 2025, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has warned that CARICOM’s diplomatic order is under serious strain following public attacks from Trinidad and Tobago’s junior minister Anil Roberts.

According to an online report by the Trinidad Express, Roberts accused Gonsalves’ family of improper housing purchases in Trinidad. Gonsalves dismissed the claims as “defamatory and entirely wrong,” stressing that his wife and children, who are Trinidadian citizens, followed normal procedures. He noted that one property was plagued with defects, contradicting any suggestion of privilege.

Gonsalves condemned the incident as “unprecedented, where a junior minister is cursing and verbally abusing the prime minister of another country”. Regional voices, including Barbados’ Ambassador David Comissiong and political analyst Peter Wickham, warned that such breaches undermine CARICOM’s strict diplomatic protocols and risk destabilising regional unity.

The dispute also touched on CARICOM’s “Zone of Peace” designation, with Trinidad arguing that domestic crime undermines the label. Gonsalves countered that expanding the definition to include non-state actors would disqualify every country worldwide.

Gonsalves insists CARICOM must uphold maturity and protocol, warning that Roberts’ remarks mark one of the gravest challenges to regional diplomacy in decades.

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