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Rubio to Meet With Caribbean Leaders 02/25 06:15
(AP) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio flies into the Caribbean country of
St. Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday for talks with regional leaders who, like
others around the world, are unsettled and uncertain about Trump administration
policies.
After President Donald Trump ordered a military operation last month to
remove and arrest Venezuela's then-leader, Nicols Maduro, stepped up
aggressive tactics to combat alleged drug smuggling and turned up pressure on
Cuba, Rubio will attend a summit of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM.
During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Trump called Maduro's
capture "an absolutely colossal victory for the security of the United States.
And it also opens up a bright new beginning for the people of Venezuela."
Leaders from the 15-nation bloc are gathering to debate pressing issues in a
region that Trump has targeted for a 21st century incarnation of the Monroe
Doctrine meant to ensure U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump said his administration is "restoring American security and dominance
in the Western Hemisphere, acting to secure our national interests and defend
our country from violence, drugs, terrorism and foreign interference."
CARICOM leaders have complained about administration measures that include
demands for nations to accept third-country deportees from the U.S., reject
Cuban medical missions and chill relations with China.
Godwin Friday, newly elected prime minister of St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, echoed the fears of many European leaders when he said the
Caribbean is "challenged from inside and out. International rules and practices
that we have become used to over the years have changed in troubling ways."
Caribbean leaders point to shifting global order
During Tuesday's opening ceremony, Terrance Drew, prime minister of St.
Kitts and Nevis and CARICOM chair, said the region "stands at a decisive hour."
"The global order is shifting," he said. "Supply chains remain uncertain,
energy markets fluctuate and climate shocks intensify."
Like other leaders, Drew spoke about changing geopolitics and said the
humanitarian situation in Cuba must be addressed and taken seriously, something
also stressed by Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
"It must be clear that a prolonged crisis in Cuba will not remain confined
to Cuba," Holness warned. "It will affect migration, security and economic
stability across the Caribbean basin."
Holness said Jamaica "stands firmly for democracy" and that his country also
"supports constructive dialogue between Cuba and the U.S. aimed at
de-escalation, reform and stability."
Bahamian Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell told The Associated Press on Tuesday
ahead of the summit that he doesn't know if individual topics will come up in
talks with Rubio but said he expects a full discussion on the nature of the
relationship with the U.S.
"It is about mutual respect and a rules-based order," he said. "Those are
some of the things we would expect from the meeting, and we are also available
for any private dialogue with Mr. Rubio."
The State Department has not said which officials Rubio will meet with
Wednesday but that he intends to discuss ways to promote regional security and
stability, trade and economic growth in group and bilateral meetings.
Caribbean leaders also are expected to talk about other issues like
security, reparations, climate change and financing, and a single market
economy.
US policy in the Caribbean
Rubio's visit comes more than a month after the U.S. captured Maduro and
brought him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.
The U.S. also has killed at least 151 people in strikes targeting small
boats accused of smuggling drugs since early September. The latest attack
Monday killed three people in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. has not provided
evidence that the targeted boats are ferrying drugs.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister, has previously
praised the attacks. Tuesday was no exception as she thanked Trump, Rubio and
the U.S. military "for standing firm against narcotrafficking" and for their
cooperation in national security matters.
"The crime is so bad, I cannot depend on just my military, my protective
services," she said.
Cuba's situation also is expected to dominate talks at CARICOM's summit.
Cuba's U.N. resident coordinator Francisco Pichn told AP on Monday that the
U.S. oil embargo is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching those still
struggling to recover from Hurricane Melissa, which struck eastern Cuba in late
October as a Category 3 storm.
He noted that the energy blockade and fuel shortages "affect the entire
logistics chain involved in being able to work in Cuba at this time, anywhere
in the country."
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