Tense exchange at closing CARICOM briefing over alleged US boat strike

by Kherim Nelson

Questions surrounding the disappearance of Saint Lucian fisherman Ricky Joseph took centre stage during the closing press conference of the 51st CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting, as new CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, faced tough questions from Al Jazeera about the government’s handling of the matter.

Al Jazeera spent the week in Saint Lucia investigating Joseph’s disappearance. His family thinks he may have died in a reported US strike in February, but there is no evidence to confirm this. Because no body has been found, police are still treating the case as a missing persons investigation.

Against that backdrop, Pierre was asked what justice should look like for Joseph’s family if the allegations turned out to be true.

The Prime Minister said the government remains very concerned, but there is still no official confirmation about what happened.

“We are very concerned about the loss of life for anybody. We’ve requested information from the United States, and we’ve not gotten any information as to what happened,” Pierre said.

He explained that without evidence confirming Joseph’s death, authorities have no choice but to continue treating the case as an active missing persons investigation.

“Our own law enforcement is trying its best to decipher what happened.”

The discussion became more tense when Pierre was asked about the families’ claims that they have had little direct contact with the government since Joseph went missing.

Rejecting any suggestion that the government was indifferent to their plight, Pierre responded: “These families are our people. They are my people, so I’m very concerned about them. I’m sure more than you… After this week, you’re going to be leaving; I’m here with them.”

The mood in the room became calmer as the discussion moved from the fishermen’s disappearance to the bigger question of whether the United States should be allowed to carry out lethal strikes on people suspected of crimes.

The question was directed to the regional leaders in attendance, with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley acknowledging the legal and geopolitical complexities surrounding such operations while making clear where she stood on moral grounds.

“Morally, I would prefer not to see it,” Mottley said.

While noting that international law allows for proportionate military action in certain circumstances, she stressed that she and, by extension, Barbados have consistently advocated for peaceful solutions over the use of force.

“Barbados always believes that there are better ways to deal with things rather than through the loss of life, whether it is the war in Gaza, whether it is internal conflict elsewhere.”