U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio will embark on his first official visit to the Caribbean next week, with a tour of three nations, including Guyana, Jamaica, and Suriname, according to sources. Rubio will meet with regional leaders to discuss several pressing issues.
The visit will begin in Jamaica, where Rubio is set to meet with Prime Minister Andrew Holness for talks. He will then travel to Guyana and Suriname to engage with their respective presidents, Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi.
Rubio’s trip follows a regional summit in Barbados last month, where CARICOM Chairwoman, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, extended an invitation to President Donald Trump to visit the Caribbean. She also expressed hopes that senior administration officials would make the trip. Soon after, Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump’s special envoy to the Americas, confirmed that both Rubio and he would visit sometime this month.
As part of the discussions, Mottley will attend the summit in Kingston, where she will represent CARICOM. Trinidad and Tobago, responsible for security matters within the group, will be represented by its newly appointed Prime Minister, Stuart Young. Haiti’s transitional government, headed by Fritz Alphonse Jean, will also have a representative in attendance to meet with Rubio.
Rubio’s visit comes at a time when Caribbean leaders are increasingly concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Haiti, which threatens to spill over into the region. Additionally, several recent U.S. policy shifts are expected to have negative effects on Caribbean economies.
Mottley has called for an emergency virtual meeting on Friday to discuss the potential impacts of a proposed Trump administration hike in port fees for China-linked ships. The proposal, which has already sparked concerns in the U.S. agriculture market, is also causing unease in the Caribbean. In recent weeks, Caribbean leaders have voiced opposition to other Trump administration policies, including threats to restrict U.S. visas for high-ranking officials and nationals of six Caribbean countries, including Cuba and Haiti, under a new travel ban.
In a separate policy development, Rubio announced last month that those participating in Cuba’s medical missions, which send doctors and nurses to the Caribbean and other regions, could face the cancellation of their U.S. visas. Meanwhile, Trump loyalists are reportedly considering a broader travel ban that could affect Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and several Eastern Caribbean nations.
The U.S. State Department has not yet commented on Rubio’s travel plans, nor on the proposed travel bans. However, a spokesperson defended the visa restrictions, noting that they are aimed at those “responsible for or involved in forced labour elements of the Cuban regime’s exploitative labour export”.
Caribbean leaders, for their part, have denied that they participate in forced labour. Nevertheless, The Bahamas’ Prime Minister has acknowledged that payments to Cuban doctors do not go directly to the doctors themselves but are instead channelled through an agency in Havana.
Meanwhile, as Haiti grapples with an escalating gang crisis, the United Nations International Organization for Migration has reported that more than 60,000 people have fled their homes in the capital, Port-au-Prince, in just one month due to violence.
The worsening situation in Haiti, which has seen gangs attacking media outlets, schools, and aid workers, has prompted widespread concern. The United States, under the Biden administration, has supported CARICOM’s efforts to mediate the crisis, which has intensified following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. However, despite efforts to establish a transitional government, Haiti remains mired in political chaos, corruption, and gang violence.
Rubio’s visit will also address other regional concerns, including the ongoing border crisis between Guyana and Venezuela. Tensions have risen after a Venezuelan patrol boat entered Guyanese waters, threatening ExxonMobil’s offshore operations. In response, the U.S. has issued a stern warning to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
[Extracted and modified from Yahoo News]
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