In­ter­na­tion­al re­la­tions ex­perts are ques­tion­ing the long-term ben­e­fits of Trinidad and To­ba­go join­ing the Amer­i­c­as Counter-Car­tel Coali­tion through the Do­ral char­ter, rais­ing con­cerns about its po­ten­tial im­pact on Cari­com re­la­tions and the longevi­ty of the agree­ment un­der Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump.

The char­ter out­lines a Unit­ed States-led re­gion­al ef­fort to dis­man­tle drug car­tels and transna­tion­al crim­i­nal gangs op­er­at­ing across the West­ern Hemi­sphere. It al­so aims to strength­en re­la­tion­ships with Latin Amer­i­can coun­tries and re­duce the in­flu­ence of Chi­na, a for­eign pol­i­cy ap­proach called the “Don­roe Doc­trine.”

The coali­tion is a part­ner­ship in­volv­ing mil­i­tary lead­ers and rep­re­sen­ta­tives from 17 coun­tries, in­clud­ing T&T and Guyana, who are com­mit­ted to us­ing co­or­di­nat­ed se­cu­ri­ty and mil­i­tary mea­sures to com­bat or­gan­ised crime.