Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has criticised the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), calling the regional organisation “not a reliable partner at this time” following the United States’ announcement of partial entry restrictions on nationals of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica on 16 December.

In a media statement issued on Saturday, Persad-Bissessar underscored that Trinidad and Tobago is not a party to the CARICOM Bureau’s statement expressing concern over the restrictions.

She argued that every sovereign state must be prepared to accept the consequences of its foreign and domestic policy choices and defended the US action as a measured response to the operations of Citizenship by Investment programmes in Antigua and Dominica.