Prime Minister Gaston Browne has clarified that the alert which prompted immigration checks on former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley during a stopover in Antigua did not originate from local authorities.
Speaking to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) during the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Grenada, Browne said immigration officers acted professionally and treated Rowley with full respect.
Dr. Rowley, who stepped away from active politics in April 2023, was flagged on July 14 at VC Bird International Airport while en route to Montserrat’s 30th anniversary observance of the Soufrière Hills Volcano eruption. The alert was reportedly based on information from INTERPOL.
“It was not a detention,” Browne said, explaining that the action taken was routine given the data in the immigration portal. “The information prompting the inquiries did not emanate from Antigua and Barbuda.”
The Prime Minister also confirmed that the matter has since been resolved. “The information has since been removed from the system, and there is no such notation,” he told CMC. “I will not speculate where it originated, but I can assure you it did not come from Antigua and Barbuda.”
Dr. Rowley has called for answers from his country’s leadership, questioning why his name appeared on an international watch list and urging explanations from Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar and Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro.