CARICOM | Rubio Set for Caribbean Tour as Regional Tensions Mount

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, March 21, 2025 - In his first official Caribbean visit since taking office, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will embark on a three-nation tour next week, meeting with leaders across the region amid escalating concerns over Haiti's security crisis and new U.S. policies that threaten to impact Caribbean economies.

The high-profile diplomatic mission will begin in Jamaica, where Rubio is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday before continuing to Guyana and Suriname for talks with Presidents Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi, respectively.

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders are preparing for the visit with urgency, scheduling their own preliminary meeting on Friday. Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Stuart Young confirmed he had spoken at length with CARICOM Chair Mia Mottley of Barbados, assuring her that "Trinidad and Tobago will continue to be at the front of the batting lineup, standing firm at the crease with CARICOM."

It is expected that Mottley will travel to Kingston to meet with Rubio next Wednesday, representing CARICOM's collective interests during the high-stakes discussions. Trinidad and Tobago, which holds responsibility for security matters within the regional bloc, will be represented by Prime Minister Young. A representative from Haiti's transitional government, headed by Fritz Alphonse Jean, is also slated to attend the summit to engage directly with the U.S. Secretary of State.

The diplomatic whirlwind comes as Mottley has called for an emergency virtual meeting this Friday to address mounting concerns over a proposed Trump administration hike in port fees for China-linked ships – a move already sending ripples through U.S. agricultural markets and causing significant unease throughout the Caribbean, where Chinese trade remains vital to many island economies.

This controversial proposal is just the latest in a series of contentious U.S. policy shifts that have put Caribbean leaders on edge. Regional governments have voiced strong opposition to Trump administration threats to restrict U.S. visas for high-ranking officials and nationals from six Caribbean countries, including Cuba and Haiti, under a proposed new travel ban.

Further stoking regional tensions, Rubio announced last month that healthcare workers participating in Cuba's medical missions – which deploy doctors and nurses throughout the Caribbean and other regions – could face cancellation of their U.S. visas. Reports suggest Trump loyalists are contemplating an even broader travel ban that might extend to Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and several Eastern Caribbean nations.

While the U.S. State Department has remained silent on both Rubio's upcoming Caribbean tour and the proposed travel restrictions, a spokesperson defended the visa restrictions on Cuban medical personnel, insisting they target those "responsible for or involved in forced labour elements of the Cuban regime's exploitative labour export." Caribbean leaders have forcefully rejected this characterization, denying any participation in forced labor practices.

The regional summit comes at a particularly volatile moment for Caribbean nations. Sources indicate that Friday's agenda will include critical updates on Haiti, where criminal gangs are attempting to overthrow the government even as efforts continue to organize presidential elections in November.

Equally pressing is the escalating border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the resource-rich Essequibo region. Tensions between the two South American neighbors have reached alarming levels after a Venezuelan patrol boat recently entered Guyanese waters, threatening ExxonMobil's offshore operations and prompting a stern warning from Washington to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

CARICOM has moved swiftly to prevent further escalation, with St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves taking on the role of regional peacemaker. Acting as interlocutor under the Argyle Agreement signed last December, Gonsalves has been shuttling between Georgetown and Caracas in a determined diplomatic effort to defuse the potentially explosive situation.

In a sobering statement issued from Kingstown, Gonsalves "cautioned that an escalation into open conflict could devastate both nations, economically and socially and destabilize the entire Latin America and Caribbean region, potentially leaving us with a humanitarian and refugee problem." His intervention underscores CARICOM's growing role in regional conflict resolution and highlights the stakes of Rubio's upcoming visit.

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