CARICOM nations divided over foreign policy approach to US influence

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a regional bloc of 15 nations founded in 1973 to promote integration and coordinate foreign policy, is experiencing internal divisions regarding its relationship with the United States.

Member states are split into three primary strategic directions: some seek to leverage the strategic benefits of US power, others aim to protect themselves from the asymmetric consequences of such influence, and a third group pursues a middle-ground diplomatic path. This tension highlights a broader debate on how small states can maintain agency in a multipolar international system—either by reforming global institutions through multilateralism or by working pragmatically within existing power structures.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has emerged as a leading advocate for multilateralism and collective action, while Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar represents a more pragmatic approach to working with predominant global powers.