Carib Scope

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  • Guyana ontvangt Cubaanse en Afghaanse gedeporteerde immigranten uit VS

    Guyana ontvangt Cubaanse en Afghaanse gedeporteerde immigranten uit VS

    In a move that underscores the Trump administration’s aggressive expansion of controversial third-country deportation policies, the South American nation of Guyana has received six Cuban and Afghan nationals deported from the United States following months of bilateral negotiations, Guyana’s Foreign Minister Robert Persaud has confirmed.

    The small group of deportees arrived in Guyana on Saturday, marking the first implementation of the newly struck agreement between Washington and Georgetown. Persaud explicitly clarified that none of the six individuals currently held in Guyana carry a criminal record, and added that no additional deportation requests from the U.S. government are pending at this time. The one-year bilateral deal does not grant permanent residency status to any of the deportees, leaving their long-term housing and legal status unresolved.

    Third-country deportation is an immigration enforcement practice that sends foreign nationals detained in the U.S. to a third nation that is neither their country of origin nor the U.S. itself. Deported individuals subjected to this policy routinely face a cascade of challenges: unfamiliarity with the host country’s social norms, severe language barriers, and no legal guarantee of permanent settlement rights. Human rights advocates have repeatedly flagged these gaps as core failures of the policy.

    The Trump administration has prioritized expanding this practice dramatically in recent years, securing more than 30 third-country deportation agreements with nations across the globe, 15 of which are located in the Americas. The policy is framed as a core fulfillment of former President Trump’s campaign promise to carry out what he called “the largest criminal deportation program in American history.” However, the fact that the six migrants sent to Guyana have no criminal records aligns with longstanding criticism that the policy casts a far wider net than advertised, sweeping up non-criminal migrants in enforcement actions.

    Global human rights groups including Amnesty International have openly condemned third-country deportations, arguing the practice acts as a punitive pressure tactic designed to force migrants to abandon their pending asylum and immigration claims in the U.S. Beyond the harm to individual migrants, advocates also raise serious concerns about conditions in many receiving countries, many of which grapple with widespread poverty, political instability, and systemic human rights violations that leave vulnerable migrants in precarious, dangerous situations.

    For the six newly arrived deportees in Guyana, short-term support is being provided by the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) through its Assisted Voluntary Return Programme. The IOM will provide basic aid while the migrants’ immigration cases are processed, with two potential long-term outcomes: eventual voluntary return to their countries of origin, or resettlement in a third country willing to accept them.

    This latest round of deportations to Guyana fits into the Trump administration’s broader restrictive immigration agenda. Beyond expanding third-country removals, the administration has moved to limit overall immigration levels, revoke legal status for tens of thousands of migrants already residing in the U.S., and cut visa access for roughly 200,000 pending asylum seekers.

  • Pawiroredjo: Staatsburgerschap niet alleen voor voetballers

    Pawiroredjo: Staatsburgerschap niet alleen voor voetballers

    A debate over proposed changes to Suriname’s Surinamese Nationality and Residency Act is taking a new turn, as the National Party of Suriname (NPS) is pushing back against a narrow, athlete-focused framework for the planned legislation. NPS parliamentary faction leader Jerrel Pawiroredjo has made it clear that the law should not exclusively target elite footballers and other athletes of Surinamese descent, arguing that high-skilled professionals from the global Surinamese diaspora who can drive national development must also be eligible for citizenship under the new regulation.

    Speaking in an interview with local outlet Starnieuws, Pawiroredjo outlined his party’s position: “We are cooperating on advancing this legislation, but we will not allow it to be narrowed down to only cover footballers and other athletes. That is not what we want.” The NPS leader emphasized that the amendment should prioritize diaspora members whose specialized expertise can directly support Suriname’s growth, naming engineers, agronomists, tax specialists and medical professionals as key groups the party wants to include in the final regulation. “These are the people we want to bring into this law,” he added.

    Beyond pushing for a broader scope, Pawiroredjo also raised fundamental concerns about the current draft of the amendment currently under discussion. If the regulation is crafted solely to resolve a specific eligibility issue for Surinamese-origin athletes, he argues, it will amount to arbitrary, ad-hoc legislation that creates unfair exclusions. While he acknowledges that eligibility boundaries must be set somewhere, he warns that arbitrarily locking out other diaspora members who could make significant contributions to the country without just cause carries tangible risks.

    “We have to recognize that this approach would exclude people who will rightfully feel discriminated against. That is the core risk of this current legislative approach,” Pawiroredjo explained.

    The NPS leader acknowledged that public demand for a solution to the citizenship issue for Surinamese-origin athletes runs deep across Surinamese society. He credited the recent strong performances of Suriname’s national football team – the Natio – with uniting the country and fostering a widespread sense of national solidarity, adding that ignoring this broad public desire would be unwise. The NPS remains committed to finding a workable compromise, Pawiroredjo said, but insists that policymakers must account for the far-reaching consequences of the amendment.

    Pawiroredjo stressed that granting citizenship to diaspora members, many of whom are third- or fourth-generation descendants of Surinamese emigrants living abroad, is a fundamental policy decision that requires careful deliberation. “This is not something you can do hastily. You have to think through this decision thoroughly, you cannot just rush it through,” he said, noting that he personally grapples with the complexity of the issue. “You cannot lightly grant citizenship to citizens of another country for this kind of specific purpose.”

    He also cast doubt on claims that resolving dual nationality legal questions will be straightforward. Many proponents of the narrow draft argue that no legal conflicts will arise if Surinamese citizenship is granted outside of a formal voluntary application process, but Pawiroredjo says he remains unconvinced. “I am not yet convinced that this will be as simple as some claim,” he stated, adding that lawmakers must also respect the nationality laws and regulations of the countries where prospective citizens currently hold legal citizenship.

    The parliamentary debate on the amendment in Suriname’s National Assembly was adjourned last Thursday. The proposal’s original sponsors will first release an amended version of the bill, giving all parliamentary factions time to review the revised text before discussion resumes. The National Assembly has scheduled a special recess session for 9:30 a.m. next Monday to take up the revised legislation.

  • Cuban and Afghan immigrants deported from US under Trump arrive in Guyana

    Cuban and Afghan immigrants deported from US under Trump arrive in Guyana

    The Trump administration’s aggressive expansion of third-country deportations has marked another milestone, with six deported migrants arriving in Guyana over the weekend as part of a newly struck bilateral agreement. The group, made up of Cuban and Afghan nationals deported over U.S. immigration violations, touched down in the South American nation on Saturday, Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud confirmed in comments to The Associated Press.

    Persaud added that none of the six arrivals have a criminal record, and that the U.S. has not submitted additional requests for deportations to Guyana at this stage. The one-year agreement between Washington and Georgetown, finalized after months of closed-door negotiations, does not grant permanent resettlement status to deportees, according to the Guyanese official.

    Third-country deportation is a policy that involves sending non-citizens detained by U.S. immigration authorities to nations that are not their country of origin. For many deportees, this means being relocated to a country they have no prior connection to, where they may not speak the local language or have any social or economic support network. The Trump administration has pushed to scale up this practice rapidly during its second term, framing the policy as a solution to the problem of origin countries that refuse to re-admit their citizens deported from the U.S.

    Amnesty International, a leading global human rights nonprofit, reports that more than 30 countries worldwide have now signed similar third-country deportation agreements with the U.S. since Trump returned to office, 15 of which are located across the Americas.

    Critics of the policy have raised widespread alarm over its ethical and humanitarian implications. Human rights groups denounce the practice as a deliberate punitive measure designed to coerce migrants into abandoning their asylum and immigration claims in the U.S. The expansion of third-country deportations also aligns with a broader trend in Trump’s second-term immigration agenda: data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a research institute based at Syracuse University, shows that 70.6 percent of all foreign nationals currently held in U.S. immigration detention have no criminal convictions, confirming that the administration’s deportation sweep extends far beyond the criminal targets Trump highlighted during his 2024 re-election campaign.

    Additional concerns center on the conditions migrants face in third-party receiving countries. Many of the nations that have signed agreements with the U.S. grapple with systemic poverty, political instability, ongoing armed conflict, and widespread human rights violations, creating dangerous conditions for newly arrived deportees.

    In the case of the six migrants sent to Guyana, the United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will provide initial support through its Assisted Voluntary Return Programme. The deportees will remain in Guyana while their immigration cases are processed, with two potential end outcomes: repatriation to their countries of origin, or resettlement in a third country.

    The new Guyana agreement is just one piece of the sweeping immigration crackdown that has defined Trump’s second term in office. The administration has already revoked legal status for tens of thousands of migrants already residing in the U.S. by canceling long-standing programs including Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole. Recent reports also indicate that officials are preparing to revoke visas for roughly 200,000 ongoing asylum seekers, a move that would push those individuals into deportation eligibility regardless of whether dangerous conflict or instability persists in their home countries.

  • Tridents lose WCPL opener

    Tridents lose WCPL opener

    The 2024 Women’s Caribbean Premier League got off to a thrilling start at Bridgetown’s iconic Kensington Oval on Saturday, where player-of-the-match Shikha Pandey delivered a standout all-round performance to hand the Trinbago Knight Riders Women a 21-run victory over three-time defending champions Barbados Tridents.

    Put into bat first after Tridents captain Hayley Matthews won the toss, the Knight Riders got off to a blistering start in the mandatory powerplay. Openers Laura Harris and Yastika Bhatia dominated the Tridents bowling attack, carrying the side to a comfortable 71 for 1 by the end of the first six overs. Harris was particularly destructive, cracking 38 runs off just 19 deliveries, featuring four crisp fours and three towering sixes. Bhatia chipped in with a solid 35, while middle-order batter Madeline Penna added 27 to the total. However, a dramatic late-order collapse saw the Knight Riders’ last six batters all dismissed for single-digit scores, with the side bowled out for 155 runs on the final ball of their 20-over innings.

    The Tridents fought hard to restrict the defending champions’ opponents, with young seamer Qiana Joseph leading the bowling effort with three wickets for 27 runs. Former captain Suzie Bates claimed 2 for 25, while Matthews also picked up two wickets for 26 runs to cap a strong bowling display from the titleholders.

    In response, the Tridents got their run chase off to a promising start, with Matthews and Joseph putting on an early opening partnership. Matthews fell for 19 off 13 deliveries on the last ball of the fifth over, and Joseph followed just one over later, dismissed for 25 on the penultimate ball of the sixth over. That left the Tridents 47 for 2 at the conclusion of the powerplay, with momentum shifting firmly in the Knight Riders’ favor.

    Number three batter Kiran Navgire top-scored for the Tridents with 28 off 21 deliveries, and Maddy Green contributed 24, but the side failed to build sustained partnerships after the powerplay. Pandey, who was consistently accurate and economical with her medium-pace bowling, ripped through the Tridents lower order to finish with sensational figures of 3 wickets for just 17 runs. All-rounder Deandra Dottin chipped in with two wickets for 24 runs, while Samara Ramnath also picked up two wickets for 16 runs. The Tridents were eventually bowled out for 134 runs with six balls still left in their innings, sealing a 21-run opening win for the Trinbago Knight Riders.

  • Grote brand verwoest deel houtzagerij aan Duisburglaan

    Grote brand verwoest deel houtzagerij aan Duisburglaan

    On September 5 at 20:02 local time, a massive inferno broke out at Nooitgedacht Sawmill, located on Duisburglaan, reducing large swathes of the facility to cinders. The blaze spread with alarming speed across the industrial site, engulfing a major portion of the company’s property in flames within minutes of ignition.

    Emergency services received an urgent distress call almost immediately after the fire was spotted, and multiple fire department units were rapidly dispatched to the scene to bring the raging fire under control. Firefighters have faced significant challenges in containing the blaze, as the sawmill stores enormous volumes of timber and other highly flammable materials that have continued to fuel the fire, allowing it to maintain its intensity.

    As of the latest update, authorities have not yet determined the origin or cause of the fire. Firefighting operations are ongoing, with crews working around the clock to stop the fire from spreading to adjacent areas and structures surrounding the sawmill property.

  • PM Browne: $10,000 Reward Following WIOC Service Station Robbery

    PM Browne: $10,000 Reward Following WIOC Service Station Robbery

    A major manhunt is underway for two armed attackers who carried out a bold, mid-afternoon robbery at a West Indies Oil Company (WIOC) fuel outlet on Buckley Line, with top officials stepping in to speed up investigations by offering a substantial cash incentive for tips. Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has publicly pledged a $10,000 reward for any member of the public who provides actionable information that results in the arrest of either of the two suspects linked to the frightening hold-up.

    Browne made the formal announcement of the reward during a live appearance on the Browne and Browne Show, broadcast locally on Pointe FM, confirming the government’s commitment to bringing the perpetrators to justice and addressing public safety concerns following the violent incident.

    According to initial statements from law enforcement authorities, the two attackers – both wearing concealing masks to hide their identities – launched their assault on the service station at approximately 4:00 p.m. last Friday. The first suspect entered the station’s main retail building armed with a handgun, confronted the on-duty cashier, and made off with an undisclosed sum of cash from the facility’s registers.

    Meanwhile, the second accomplice, who was armed with a high-powered rifle, remained outside at the fuel pumps. He held an attending pump employee at gunpoint, stealing a separate pouch that held all of the day’s accumulated revenue from fuel sales at the station.

    After collecting the stolen funds, the pair fled the scene on foot initially, before reportedly discharging a single gunshot as they made their getaway in a dark-purple Toyota Ractis. Responding investigators who processed the crime scene shortly after the incident recovered a spent bullet casing at the location, a key piece of forensic evidence that will aid in the ongoing investigation.

    Security camera footage from the service station captured the terrifying chaos of the robbery in progress, showing the outlet’s terrified employees hiding to avoid harm during the attack. One individual, overwhelmed by the stress of the ordeal, was recorded collapsing as the robbers carried out their crime. No official reports of serious gunshot injuries to staff or bystanders have been released to date, but the incident has sparked widespread concern about violent crime in the area.

  • Electoral Office suspends voter ID card distribution on by-election day

    Electoral Office suspends voter ID card distribution on by-election day

    Voters and residents of Dominica’s capital Roseau are adjusting their plans after an official announcement from the country’s Electoral Office that key public services will be temporarily paused next week. According to the public advisory, one critical service — distribution of new Voter Identification Cards at the agency’s Jewel Street, Roseau location — will be completely unavailable on Monday, September 7, 2026.

    The temporary halt to this service is not the result of staffing issues or technical disruptions, but rather a direct adjustment to accommodate the Roseau North Constituency by-election scheduled to take place on that exact date. The by-election will draw election staff, administrative resources and public attention to polling operations across the constituency, making the regular distribution service unworkable for the single day.

    Normal operations will resume promptly the following day. Starting Tuesday, September 8, the Jewel Street office will go back to distributing Voter ID Cards during its published operating window of 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. This schedule will remain in place for the rest of the week.

    Electoral officials are specifically urging eligible voters from three key constituencies — Roseau Central, Roseau Valley, and Roseau North — to collect their identification cards during the rescheduled operating hours in the coming days. The office has moved to pre-empt frustration from the temporary suspension, thanking members of the public in advance for their patience and cooperation as the electoral process moves forward.

    Beyond the service adjustment, the Electoral Office is also reminding all registered electors in the Roseau North Constituency to make any necessary preparations ahead of polling day. This includes double-checking registration details, mapping out travel to their assigned polling station, and reviewing the official electoral procedures that will be in place to ensure the by-election runs smoothly and transparently.

  • Electoral Office adds polling station in Roseau North

    Electoral Office adds polling station in Roseau North

    As the September 7, 2026 by-election for Dominica’s Roseau North Constituency approaches, local electoral authorities have implemented a key adjustment to voting infrastructure to streamline the process for electors. The Electoral Office of Dominica has confirmed it will expand polling capacity in District No. 9, one of the constituency’s voting districts, increasing the total number of polling stations from four to five.

    The change came after a comprehensive review of current voting arrangements and updated elector counts for each existing station. According to the official announcement, the additional polling station is specifically designed to cut down on wait times, boost overall voting efficiency, and alleviate overcrowding that could disrupt voting operations on election day.

    District No. 9 serves three population centers: Gutter Village, Tarish Pit, and portions of the Goodwill neighborhood. Notably, all five polling stations will be housed within the same location: Goodwill Primary School. To organize voting flows, officials have divided electors across the five stations alphabetically by surname: the first station handles voters with last names from A to C, the second from D to G, third from H to L, fourth from M to R, and the newly added station will accommodate all voters with surnames from S to Z.

    Electoral officials have issued a public call to action, urging all registered voters in District No. 9 to double-check their assigned polling station well in advance of election day. The office has also reminded electors that they are required to cast their ballots at the specific station they have been allocated to, in order to avoid processing delays or voting complications.

    In a statement, the Electoral Office emphasized that this capacity adjustment is just one part of its broader ongoing efforts to deliver an electoral process that is orderly, accessible to all registered voters, and efficient. The ultimate goal of the change, officials noted, is to guarantee that every eligible voter can successfully cast their ballot within the official designated polling hours on September 7.

  • Nieuw veiligheidsplan moet land weerbaarder maken tegen moderne dreigingen

    Nieuw veiligheidsplan moet land weerbaarder maken tegen moderne dreigingen

    Suriname has launched a new comprehensive five-year national security framework, the National Strategic Security Policy Plan 2026-2031, designed to tackle a growing range of transnational and domestic security threats including cross-border crime, cybercrime, human trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal gold mining, and public corruption. The plan was formally presented and transferred during the closing session of the 2026 National Security Conference, held on September 5, where Surinamese President Jennifer Simons emphasized the inextricable link between long-term economic progress and intentional investment in public safety and robust institutional capacity.

    The two-day conference, organized by the Directorate of National Security (DNV) and hosted at the Congress Hall under the central theme “Strategic Resilience and Integrated Cooperation”, brought together security agencies, policymakers, civil society organizations, and international partners to deliberate on current and emerging security challenges facing the nation. After the plan was formally presented to President Simons during the event, the head of state transferred the official policy document to Major Gerard Kalka, acting director of the DNV, and Harish Monorath, Minister of Justice and Security.

    The new policy framework is set to guide all national security planning and operations for the coming half-decade. In her address at the conference closing, President Simons noted that the plan comes at a critical juncture for Suriname, which is opening new economic opportunities driven by rapid development in its oil, natural gas, and gold sectors, while simultaneously facing evolving, increasingly complex security risks that threaten sustainable growth.

    “There can be no durable development without security,” President Simons stated, highlighting that addressing the full spectrum of modern threats detailed in the plan requires up-to-date intelligence, advanced technological infrastructure, well-trained personnel, and strengthened, accountable public institutions. She emphasized that no single security agency or standalone organization can effectively counter current multi-faceted threats on its own, stressing that cross-agency collaboration and real-time information sharing must be expanded across all levels of government.

    “Security requires an ongoing process of information sharing, analysis, and coordinated action,” the president added. She also underscored that institutional integrity within security forces must be a core priority, noting that operational professionalism, discipline, and transparency must always be paired with full respect for fundamental human rights.

    Reaffirming that national security is a shared obligation rather than the sole responsibility of government officials or uniformed personnel, President Simons noted: “National security is a collective responsibility. It does not belong only to cabinet ministers or Surinamese people in uniform — it belongs to all of us.” While the government will lead coordination of the new security strategy, she added, meaningful progress can only be achieved when security agencies, civil society groups, and the broader public all take shared ownership of the country’s safety goals.

  • PM Browne Orders Sex Offenders Registry Made Public With Photos

    PM Browne Orders Sex Offenders Registry Made Public With Photos

    The twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda is moving forward with a landmark policy shift that will open up its existing Sex Offenders Registry to broad public access, a move designed to empower local residents with critical safety information. In a public announcement made Saturday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne confirmed that he has issued formal instructions to Sir Steadroy Benjamin, the country’s Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, to launch the administrative and legislative process required to remove existing access restrictions on the registry.

    Established and brought into operation back in November 2022, the registry has so far operated under strict access controls. Under current rules, only pre-vetted individuals who meet specific eligibility criteria are permitted to view entries, and all requests must be submitted directly through the Office of the Commissioner of Police for approval. This system has barred the general public from freely accessing information about convicted sex offenders residing within the country’s borders.

    Prime Minister Browne acknowledged that the policy change is not without its legal complexities. Critics and legal analysts have already raised concerns that publishing the full identities and official photographs of convicted offenders could violate constitutional protections around privacy and due process. Despite these valid concerns, Browne emphasized that the public’s fundamental right to community safety and information must take priority over individual privacy protections in this specific context.

    If implemented as proposed, the reform will dramatically expand access to the registry, giving everyday residents the ability to independently identify individuals who have been convicted of sexual offenses in the country. At this early stage, however, government officials have not yet released a concrete timeline for when the public registry will launch, nor have they outlined the full scope of information that will be made available to the general public.