Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said this country stands outside Caricom's zone of peace as it is most affected by narco-trafficking, human trafficking and weapons trafficking because of its close location to South America.

She made the statement while speaking to reporters outside the Red House on October 25, after the close of the Standing Finance Committee. She was responding to questions about former Caricom prime ministers and a petition to have the region remain a zone of peace.

Persad-Bissessar welcomed the presence of the US military in Caribbean waters and the arrival of USS Gravely, scheduled to dock in the Port of Port of Spain on October 26.