PM warns intelligence agencies about hegemony in the region

PRIME MINISTER and Minister of National Security, Dr Ralph Gonsalves is calling on intelligence organisations operating in the region to look at hegemonic interference in the Caribbean.

Hegemonic interference refers to the practice of a dominant state, the hegemon, influencing or interfering in the internal affairs of other, often weaker, states within its sphere of influence. This interference can manifest in various forms, including political, economic, and cultural manipulation, with the aim of maintaining or expanding the hegemon’s power and control.

Speaking at the opening of the 16th Caribbean Regional Intelligence Conference at the Holiday Inn in Diamond on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, the prime minister said that intelligence units should look at matters where hegemons may seek in a number of nefarious ways to subvert democracy.

“…I tell you this, there is something we are not sufficiently alert to. I raise it at a large policy level- is the increasing role of a hegemon from the East in our region which shall be unnamed.

“I don’t want to create any diplomatic incident but I just want you to know, purely as a matter of important foreign policy, St Vincent and the Grenadines will maintain relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan…” Dr Gonsalves told those attending the opening ceremony.

Among persons in attendance was the Deputy Director of Intelligence of the United States, Southern Command, Diane Halladay.

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