{"id":38894,"date":"2026-02-26T08:05:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=38894"},"modified":"2026-02-26T08:07:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:07:23","slug":"jamaican-st-kitts-nevis-leaders-call-for-caricom-humanitarian-aid-to-cuba-say-region-can-be-interlocutor-between-havana-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=38894","title":{"rendered":"Jamaican, St Kitts-Nevis leaders call for CARICOM humanitarian aid to Cuba, say region can be interlocutor between Havana, Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .<\/p>\n

An article by \u00a0Denis Chabrol in Demerara Waves<\/a><\/p>\n

Former Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Jamaica\u2019s Prime Minister Andrew Holness and current Chairman, St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew called for humanitarian relief to Cuba and said the region could be an interlocutor between Washington and Havana to seize the opportunity for political and economic reforms in that communist-ruled island.<\/p>\n

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\nCARICOM Chairman, St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew addressing the opening of the summit (CARICOM Secretariat picture)<\/center><\/p>\n

\u201cThis moment, therefore, calls not for rhetoric, but for responsible statecraft, even as we encourage support for humanitarian relief,\u201d Mr Holness told the opening of the mid-term summit of CARICOM leaders in St Kitts, less than one day before regional leaders, including Guyana\u2019s President, Irfaan Ali, are due to meet with United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/p>\n

He added that Jamaica supports constructive dialogue between Cuba and the US aimed at de-escalation, reform, and stability. \u201cWe believe there is space, perhaps more space now than in years past, for pragmatic engagement that protects the Cuban people from any further deterioration in their circumstances and instead promotes national and regional prosperity,\u201d said the Jamaican PM, regarded as a moderate US ally.<\/p>\n

For his part, CARICOM Chairman, Dr Drew said the regional grouping could be an interlocutor between Washington and Havana to address concerns. \u201cAnd the community must serve as a conduit to ensure that there is communication and dialogue between the forces that be, so that the best opportunity can be had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

CARICOM member states are pursuing capitalism and Western-style freely-elected government, but during the reign of Venezuela\u2019s socialist governments of Hugo Chavez and Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, several historically left-leaning CARICOM governments especially in the Eastern Caribbean had up to earlier this year enjoyed more than cozy relations with Venezuela.<\/p>\n

But Mr Holness said that with the \u201cshifting\u201d geopolitical environment, the time has come for CARICOM member states to broker improved conditions there. \u201cThis may well be a moment of opportunity, a moment for transition, for recalibration, for a new chapter. CARICOM can play a constructive role, not as an ideological bloc, but as a community of democratic states offering cooperation, economic reform, and social development,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Holness said \u201cclarity and courage\u201d should be the key ingredients in addressing the situation in Cuba whose doctors and teachers have served across the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

(Continued in right column)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Question related to this article:<\/div>\n
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Solidarity across national borders, What are some good examples?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(Continued from left column)<\/p>\n

Under intense pressure of government officials and their immediate families losing their American visas, Guyana and several other Caribbean countries have scrapped their decades-old Cuban Medical Brigade agreements over Washington\u2019s concerns about forced labour that it says amounts to human trafficking.<\/p>\n

The Jamaican leader lamented the plight of Cubans at a time when the US has further tightened its more than 64-year-old trade and economic embargo since the removal of the Venezuela President from office.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has warned of tariffs if any country supplies fuels to Cuba.\u00a0\u201cIts people are part of our shared history. But today, the Cuban people face severe economic hardship, energy shortages, and growing humanitarian strain. Jamaica is sensitive to the struggles of the Cuban people,\u201d Mr Holness said.<\/p>\n

Weeks of no supplies have forced the virtual closure of the airport to international flights because refuelling is impossible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr Drew, who studied in Cuba and said he was in contact with Cubans on the Spanish-speaking island, appealed for regional unity in bringing urgent relief to Cuba now beset by food shortages, electricity outages and garbage pileups. \u201cI can only feel the pain of those who treated me so well when I was a student. I can feel their challenges and their difficulties. I do not get involved in their politics, but as a matter of humanity, it is challenging. I would say it is almost impossible not to feel the pain that (is) the pain that is conveyed to me in messages and calls from those who I lived among,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Without naming the US, the Jamaican PM cautioned that \u201chumanitarian suffering serves no one\u201d before issuing a grim warning that the current conditions could spell several crises for the rest of the Caribbean. \u201cApart from our fraternal care and solidarity with the Cuban people, it must be clear that a prolonged crisis in Cuba will not remain confined to Cuba. It will affect migration, security, and economic stability across the Caribbean basin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr Drew also feared that worsening conditions in Cuba, with a population of nine to 12 million, could adversely impact CARICOM member states whose combined population is fewer than 10 million. \u201cA destabilized Cuba will destabilize all of us\u2026Therefore, if a state within our community is so destabilised, it will affect all of us in the region. And as a matter of course, it is important that the community looks at the humanitarian issue in Cuba, treats it extremely seriously,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Holness urged careful consideration and collective action, even as he stated categorically that Jamaica favours democracy, human rights, political accountability, and open market-based economies.<\/p>\n

He said Jamaica does not believe that long-term stability can exist where economic freedom is constrained and political participation is limited. \u201cThis is not a moment for division in our community. It is a moment for maturity, for principled realism, and if we act wisely, for positive change in our hemisphere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar \u2013 an unabashed US ally who has credited the presence of American troops in the Caribbean for 42 percent or 257 fewer murders in her country \u2013 chastised those CARICOM member states for supporting Cuba.<\/p>\n

She accused sister member-governments of engaging in double standards by coming to power through democratic elections but at the same time supporting communism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

– – – – – –<\/p>\n

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY . An article by \u00a0Denis Chabrol in Demerara Waves Former Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Jamaica\u2019s Prime Minister Andrew Holness and current Chairman, St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew called for humanitarian relief to Cuba and said the region could be an interlocutor between Washington and Havana to … Continue reading Jamaican, St Kitts-Nevis leaders call for CARICOM humanitarian aid to Cuba, say region can be interlocutor between Havana, Washington<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,14],"tags":[20],"class_list":["post-38894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latin-america","category-tolerance","tag-latin-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38894"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38898,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38894\/revisions\/38898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}