‘Powerful’ political operatives in town , says PM Gonsalves

Prime Minister, and Leader of the incumbent Unity Labour Party (ULP), Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, is warning against political operatives he said are in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG),to help derail a possible ULP victory.

Speaking in Colonaire at the launch of the ULP manifesto last Sunday evening, November 16, 2025, Dr. Gonsalves told the massive gathering at the Irvin Warrican Playing Field that operatives from the United National Congress (UNC), the party in government in Trinidad and Tobago, were already on the ground in SVG working alongside the New Democratic Party (NDP) to help them win the November 27, 2025 general elections. He claimed as well that an expatriate businessman in Canouan also is helping to finance the NDP because of a desire to hold onto a lease agreement whose provisions are not being upheld, and that the ULP administration wants to buy back. Speaking a few days later at Chauncey, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at a ULP meeting in support of ULP South Leeward candidate, Grenville Williams, Dr. Gonsalves went one step further and warned about Chinese operatives also seeking to influence the general elections so they could gain a foothold in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“I want to begin by telling you that there are forces arrayed against the ULP and its leader- forces which are powerful,” and are aligned to the NDP which is willing to sacrifice SVG “on the altar of greed and recklessness”.

At the start of his near 30 minute address, he told the gathering he was speaking to them “not just as political leader of the Unity Labour Party, but … about matters as prime minister”.

In fact, he informed the gathering that he was arriving at the meeting at the time he did because he was dealing with a matter involving Chinese operatives.

“ I just had to give instructions as Prime Minister to refuse the visas of four Chinese operatives [who were] seeking to enter the country…”,adding that “there are Chinese companies involved in the selling of passports” who are also engaged in activities to encourage parties in opposition, like the NDP, in countries which have relations with Taiwan to switch alliances to mainland China.

The NDP has made no secret of their intentions should they win the general elections, to make that switch in relations, a move that Dr. Gonsalves said would be not in the interest of SVG, but of mainland China.

“It is sickening to me as a patriot, as a nationalist, to see politicians in the NDP taking instruction from Chinese operatives,” said Dr. Gonsalves, the Minister of National Security, noting that “they supply a lot of money”.

He told the gathering that greed and money are motivating factors at work.

“Between the wannabe sellers of our passports and the problems it will cause us, and the beak in relations with Taiwan…there will be an invasion of Chinese workers on the construction sites in this country.”

The Prime Minister charged that the various political operatives have their eyes set on securing prime real estate and infrastructure in Kingstown and Arnos Vale for a song, mentioning lands once occupied by the SVG Port Authority and at the decommissioned E.T Joshua Airport, as well as securing a stake in the just opened Modern Kingstown Port.