Prime Minister Philip J Pierre has reaffirmed CARICOM’s commitment to supporting Cuba as the island continues to grapple with a deepening humanitarian crisis, while also calling for stronger communication among regional leaders.
Speaking on April 7, Pierre said the regional bloc remains aligned on providing assistance to Cuba, where worsening fuel shortages have intensified economic and social pressures.
“CARICOM, at the last meeting, was speaking about aid and humanitarian aid for Cuba,” Pierre stated. “I think CARICOM is still in that vein.”
He stressed that the region should maintain a consistent approach as conditions evolve.
“Things are changing very dramatically in Cuba,” he said. “I think CARICOM believes that we should continue the position of seeing if we can get some humanitarian aid towards Cuba, and we should stick that CARICOM position for now until we have to act differently.”
Pierre added that Saint Lucia would continue to work within the regional framework to deliver assistance.
“Right now, I believe that we are going to work with CARICOM to bring humanitarian aid to Cuba in the structure that has been designed by CARICOM,” he explained.
His comments come against the backdrop of wider regional concerns, including controversy surrounding the reappointment of CARICOM Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett and calls from Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, for greater transparency in the process.
While Pierre did not directly address the dispute, he emphasized the importance of closer dialogue among CARICOM leaders.
“I think CARICOM prime ministers should pick up the phone and talk to each other,” he said. “That is what I am seeing now, and I think that should happen more.”
He pointed to earlier generations of Caribbean leadership as an example of consistent communication and collaboration.
“In the days of John Compton and Eugenia Charles and Forbes Burnham, they always spoke to each other,” Pierre noted. “I think if that happened more now, that would be my only dream for CARICOM, that prime ministers should be speaking more to each other, off the record.”
The Prime Minister also addressed ongoing questions regarding Cuban medical personnel in Saint Lucia, firmly reiterating that no formal agreement exists between the two countries.
“Saint Lucia has no agreement with Cuba on medical personnel,” Pierre said. “There is no document that has been signed between Saint Lucia and Cuba as far as medical personnel are concerned.”
He explained that Cuban nationals currently working in the island’s health sector do so independently.
“The people who are working here are working as doctors, getting paid as doctors like us in Saint Lucia,” he added. “They are free citizens. They can go wherever they want. They are not here under any arrangement.”
Pierre’s remarks underscore both the urgency of the humanitarian situation in Cuba and the need for strengthened unity within CARICOM, as regional leaders navigate complex political and economic challenges.