Antigua and Barbuda urges citizens and CARICOM partners to boycott Trinidad and Tobago goods over PM’s remarks

Antigua and Barbuda: The government officials of Antigua and Barbuda have urged their residents and regional partners to boycott the importation of goods from Trinidad and Tobago. This decision comes after the diplomatic dispute triggered by the remarks made by the Prime Minister of T&T in which she criticized the leadership of their nation.

On Sunday, the PM of T&T Kamla Persad posted something on social media in which she was criticizing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), including Antigua and Barbuda, while alleging that they broke the US policy in the region over Venezuela by joining hands with the Maduro narco-government.

She accused many nations by saying that “Many nations are aligning their region with the Venezuelan region and with the person who killed thousands of people who opposed him and raised their voice towards the wrong.”

“He not only did that he also violated the CARICOM’s longstanding zone of peace diplomatic framework as a “façade” that shields Caracas.”

In a further statement she emphasized that “My country wants no part in that alignment,” while suggesting “Antigua and Barbuda should focus on explaining why they restricted the U.S Visa in their nation rather than focusing on my remarks.”

Responding to which, the senior government official commented that “the characterization of our country’s foreign policy by Kamla is very disrespectful and I find it very offensive.”

He stated that the remark made by her that Antigua is somehow backing dictatorship or drug trafficking was “an insult to our nation, our democratic values, and our commitment to regional unity.”

While urging the people of Antigua and Barbuda to boycott buying goods from T&T, a senior government official stated “If you are buying goods from them then boycott it now but if you continue to do it then it will become a problem because then it will become a disrespect of your own nation.”

In a further statement he pointed out that "Antigua and Barbuda imports a significant amount of goods from Trinidad and Tobago, while claiming that last year our country imported approximately US $28.2 million worth of products from them, but still she said bad things about our country and accused us.”

Lastly, he also suggested that the “other CARICOM countries should also boycott their things to send a collective message about respect and regional solidarity of our country to her so that she can know what happens when you disrespect other notation’s government and leadership.”