Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the United National Congress (UNC) have forcefully denied accusations made by St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who claimed that UNC operatives are interfering in St Vincent’s general election and are motivated by access to lands.
In a statement released on her official X account, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said the allegations were baseless and politically charged.
“It is ironic that a man whose family obtained access to three luxury apartments in Trinidad — including one acquired through a favourable rent-to-own arrangement — would seek to label others as greedy,” Persad-Bissessar said. “Ralph Gonsalves should account to the people of St Vincent for his 24 years in office and stop deflecting onto the UNC.”
She challenged Gonsalves to publicly identify the UNC members he claims are operating in St Vincent or “stop gaslighting his citizens.”
The UNC stressed that the ongoing investigations into the Gonsalves family’s purchase of three high-rise units at Victoria Keyes are unrelated to St Vincent’s election and are focused solely on issues within Trinidad and Tobago’s jurisdiction.
According to the Prime Minister, the investigations seek to determine:
- Whether any fraudulent declarations were submitted;
- The verified source of funding for the acquisitions;
- How Gonsalves’ daughter secured a rent-to-own arrangement just two days after Trinidad’s general election, before the new government was installed.
Persad-Bissessar further warned that a troubling pattern is emerging in the Caribbean, where leaders and political parties are becoming increasingly active in elections outside their own borders.
“The UNC does not engage in that kind of deplorable and disreputable conduct,” she said. “The people of St Vincent and the Grenadines alone must choose their leader.”
She cautioned that continued cross-border political involvement by regional heads could fracture Caribbean unity.
“If CARICOM Prime Ministers keep cavorting around the region and interfering in the internal affairs and electoral processes of member states, it is only a matter of time before CARICOM implodes,” she warned.
The government of St Vincent and the Grenadines has not yet issued a response to Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar’s latest statements.
