CARICOM’s Security Strategies Have Failed to Deliver Real Safety
The recent threads criticizing my statements miss the point entirely. My concern was never about partisan politics; it’s about the structural failures that have allowed crime, narcotics, and violence to devastate Trinidad and Tobago and spread unchecked across our region.
I’ve lived these failures. I was born in Trinidad and Tobago; I now live in Canada but maintain ties, property, and family there. I’ve lost relatives to the kind of crime that officials claim they are “addressing.” And from where I stand, it’s clear that CARICOM’s security framework, while well-intentioned, has failed to deliver meaningful results.
Let’s talk specifics:
IMPACS (CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security) was created nearly two decades ago to coordinate intelligence-sharing and strengthen border protection. Yet, member states still operate in silos. There are glaring gaps in communication, technology, and information flow. IMPACS has produced reports, conferences, and recommendations ; but not measurable outcomes on the ground. Guns still pass easily through regional ports; traffickers still move narcotics between islands with impunity. Where is the accountability for results?
The RSS (Regional Security System) has proven useful in disaster response and limited law enforcement cooperation, but its reach is uneven. Not all CARICOM nations participate, and coordination with major regional stakeholders . When crises erupt, response is too often bureaucratic and reactive rather than swift and coordinated.
Political unwillingness is the underlying issue. Security cooperation demands transparency and shared sovereignty, two things many Caribbean governments have resisted for fear of exposing internal weaknesses. This reluctance turns regional cooperation into window dressing. Instead of pooling resources and intelligence, too many states cling to national pride while criminals operate as a unified regional force.
Added to this is CARICOM’s silence on cross-border incidents, such as Venezuelan forces shooting at or abducting Trinidadian fishermen. These are not isolated events — they’re challenges to regional sovereignty. Yet CARICOM offers platitudes instead of policy. That inaction sends a dangerous signal to both our neighbours and our citizens.
The truth is, CARICOM has the right frameworks but no momentum. IMPACS and the RSS should be engines for active collaboration; instead, they’ve become bureaucratic checkpoints. Reports are written, meetings are held, but criminals aren’t reading policy communiqués ; they’re exploiting our hesitation.
For CARICOM to matter, it must move beyond talk and adopt a practical approach:
Establish real-time intelligence and threat-sharing systems among member states.
Commit to joint maritime operations that secure trade routes and deter criminal trafficking.
Enforce transparency and accountability in national reporting on arms seizures, drug movement, and corruption.
And now, the challenge: CARICOM leaders must stop running from measurable commitments. I call for the next CARICOM Heads of Government meeting to produce a Regional Security Accountability Plan, one with clear deadlines, publicly available metrics, and follow-up audits reported to the Caribbean people. Let citizens see the data. Let us judge progress by outcomes, not announcements.
For too long, Caribbean governments have asked their people for patience while delivering platitudes. The region no longer has that luxury. Every delay strengthens criminal networks and weakens public faith. If CARICOM cannot rise to this task, criminals will, and other nations will; that will be the organization’s greatest failure.
Sarge...