Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has pushed back against claims by St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman Dr Terrance Drew that her Foreign Minister was not disinvited from a leaders’ retreat held during the 50th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in St Kitts and Nevis in February.

Late on April 11, Drew released a detailed statement outlining the chain of correspondence between the CARICOM Secretariat and member states in the lead-up to the leadership meeting, including arrangements for the now infamous retreat.

In his statement, Drew maintained that Foreign Minister Sean Sobers was not disinvited, noting that Sobers had expressed concerns about attending due to seasickness, as delegates were required to take a 15-minute water taxi to Nevis where the retreat was held.

The statement followed a virtual meeting of CARICOM leaders on April 10 to discuss governance concerns raised by Trinidad and Tobago.

However, in a social media post on April 11, Persad-Bissessar argued that official CARICOM correspondence showed multiple messages were sent to Trinidad and Tobago on logistical matters — including arrangements for a ceremonial shirt — but none referencing any agenda item related to the reappointment of Secretary General Carla Barnett.

She also pointed to a WhatsApp message sent on the morning of February 26 — the day of the retreat — by CARICOM Chef de Cabinet Janice Miller, which indicated that the session would be limited to heads of government.

The message read: “Good morning Foreign Ministers. Chairman PM Drew has indicated that today will be a Heads only retreat. Notwithstanding any indication otherwise, he would like it to remain Heads only. He apologizes for any inconvenience. Ministers should therefore remain for the Community Council Meeting to complete its work, including those agenda items from the Heads agenda which Community Council is to consider and provide recommendations to Heads for adoption.”

Persad-Bissessar questioned whether Sobers was effectively disinvited, suggesting the move may have been intended to facilitate what she described as a “surreptitious” process in reappointing Barnett.

“At best Minister Sobers was disinvited because he had no fancy CARICOM shirt, at worst he was disinvited to deliberately facilitate Ms Barnett’s surreptitious reappointment process. Even their own email from Chef de Cabinet Janice Miller dated February 22, 2026 states that the retreat is only for heads of government, which contradicts their position that Minister Sobers was invited,” she wrote.

The prime minister also called for the release of key documents, including minutes from the retreat, the secretary general’s performance appraisal, and records from both the 2021 and 2026 appointment processes.

She further accused CARICOM officials of avoiding accountability and criticised what she described as attempts to discredit her Foreign Minister.