In a landmark step to lay the groundwork for 2026 inclusive national elections, Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has formally inaugurated a countrywide training program designed to reinforce electoral security and guarantee the credibility of upcoming votes for key judicial and public authority posts. The initiative, conducted under the official oversight of Haiti’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), aligns directly with the three core policy priorities the prime minister outlined for his administration: eliminating the threat of armed gang activity to restore national security, revitalizing Haiti’s struggling economy, and delivering free, fair, transparent, and inclusive elections by the end of the year. The first phase of the training program focuses on equipping three key stakeholder groups with the tools to uphold electoral integrity: government commissioners, justices of the peace, and uniformed personnel from both the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H) and the Haitian National Police (PNH). Initial training sessions are being rolled out in three strategic municipalities: Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital, Petit-Goâve, and Croix-des-Bouquets, with plans for a phased expansion that will reach all 146 of Haiti’s municipalities in the coming months. Alongside the training initiative, the Haitian government has also earmarked more than 3 billion gourdes in public funding to support participating political parties and electoral coalitions, a move designed to level the playing field for all candidates. During the launch ceremony, Prime Minister Fils-Aimé delivered a firm, uncompromising rebuke to gang activity, stressing that the Haitian state would never retreat from its duty to protect national territory and would never cede control of any region to armed criminal groups. “We will combat money laundering systematically, and we will not allow dirty money to infiltrate our electoral process and corrupt our ballot boxes,” the prime minister stated. To deliver on this promise, his administration will establish a dedicated specialized judicial unit focused on investigating and prosecuting financial crimes, with a specific mandate to block illicit financing from influencing election outcomes. The prime minister also paid public tribute to the courage and sacrifice of police and military personnel currently deployed to retake residential neighborhoods held by armed gangs, urging security forces to apply the highest level of rigor to pursuing and penalizing any violations of electoral law. Reaffirming the government’s commitment to collaborative governance throughout the electoral process, Fils-Aimé noted that all planning is being carried out in close consultation with Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), civil society organizations, and registered political parties. He closed with a solemn reminder to all electoral stakeholders of their core obligation: “You have only one leader: the Haitian people. It is to them alone that you owe loyalty, discipline, and impartiality.”
分类： politics
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Gonsalves says police force ‘now entirely politicised’
A controversial fast-track promotion of a former partisan political official to a senior leadership role in the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force is at the center of growing political tension, with opposition leader Ralph Gonsalves labeling the plan entirely unacceptable and warning it will deepen what he calls systemic partisan infiltration of the national constabulary.
National Security Minister St. Clair Leacock first made public Brenton Smith’s planned promotion as part of a broader reshuffle of the police force’s top command on Wednesday. Smith’s path to this anticipated senior appointment traces back to 2021, when he was one of hundreds of public sector workers terminated under Gonsalves’ Unity Labour Party (ULP) government, which enforced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that removed unvaccinated public employees from their posts.
After his dismissal, Smith stepped into a top partisan role, serving as general secretary of the then-opposition New Democratic Party (NDP). Following the NDP’s landslide general election victory on November 27, the new administration fulfilled a campaign pledge to reinstate all workers dismissed under the previous government’s vaccine mandate, restoring their full employment benefits. Smith returned to his role in the police force as part of this policy.
What makes Smith’s planned promotion extraordinary is the size of the rank jump: instead of advancing sequentially through the traditional hierarchy of assistant superintendent and superintendent, he will move directly from his current rank of inspector to the senior position of assistant commissioner of police (ACP), skipping three intermediate ranks entirely. On Wednesday, Gonsalves addressed the plan during a caller segment on his popular weekly radio show *Morning Comrade*, broadcast on Star FM, after a listener cited Leacock’s announcement that Smith would also be tapped to lead critical human resources operations within the force.
Gonsalves stressed that his criticism centers on institutional principle, not a personal attack on Smith. He emphasized that the proposed leap would be an unprecedented break from longstanding police protocol and fundamentally unfair to veteran officers who remained in service and climbed the ranks gradually while Smith left to pursue full-time partisan political activity.
“I have no objection to him returning to his post — other workers dismissed under the mandate were reinstated, and that is the policy the new government put in place, that is their right,” Gonsalves said. “But there is no justification for moving him straight from inspector over multiple intermediate ranks directly to the ACP. You simply cannot skip assistant superintendent, superintendent, and all the intervening steps to land at a senior command post. I do not believe the public of this country will accept this unfair outcome lightly.”
The opposition leader warned that if the promotion moves forward, it will trigger significant unrest both among the general public and within the rank-and-file of the police force. “Vincentians have a deeply held belief in fairness in public service,” he noted. “When the public sees an unfair appointment, they will speak up. And serving officers who have spent decades working their way up the ranks will also object to this. This decision will carry major repercussions, far-reaching repercussions.”
Gonsalves called on the independent Police Service Commission (PSC), which holds formal authority to approve senior police appointments, to reject the plan, saying he would be gravely disappointed if the body endorsed the accelerated promotion. “I know the chairman and all members of the PSC personally, and I cannot imagine that, with proper legal and procedural advice, they would endorse such an irregular decision. This is fundamentally a question of merit and seniority. There are only four ACP posts in the force, and when vacancies open, appointments should go to officers who have worked their way up through the system, not to former political officials who just returned to the force.”
Gonsalves drew a clear distinction between Smith’s proposed promotion and the planned elevation of two other senior officers, Trevor “Buju” Bailey and Dwayne Bailey, who are set to be promoted to deputy commissioner of police. He stated he holds the Bailey brothers in high professional regard, noting that their promotions follow traditional hierarchical advancement: Dwayne Bailey was promoted to superintendent by the PSC during the ULP administration, and Trevor Bailey already holds the ACP post, so his elevation to deputy falls well within normal procedural bounds.
“The promotions for the Bailey brothers are completely reasonable and aligned with constitutional and regulatory frameworks, which outline the prime minister’s role in appointing commissioner and deputy commissioner posts,” Gonsalves explained. “Smith’s jump is on an entirely different footing — it combines an unprecedented accelerated promotion with recent full-time partisan political activity with the ruling party.”
Gonsalves also questioned the procedural decision to have the sitting national security minister announce individual senior promotions, rather than releasing the announcement through the PSC, the body legally responsible for police personnel decisions. “I held the national security portfolio and oversaw the police force for years under the ULP government, and I have never seen a sitting minister personally announce individual promotions of this sort. This makes clear that the entire police force is now being politicized from the top down, after the NDP took office in November,” he added.
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Bouva bespreekt economische samenwerking met Venezolaanse leiding
On a working visit to Venezuela, Melvin Bouva, Suriname’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Cooperation, held high-level talks with interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez focused on expanding and deepening diplomatic and economic ties between the two Caribbean-South American nations. The meeting, held in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, centered on boosting collaborative projects across a suite of strategic priority sectors, including energy, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, education, and capacity building for the oil and gas industry.
Bouva’s visit was arranged at the invitation of his Venezuelan counterpart, and aligned with broader regional integration goals and the advancement of South-South cooperation, a framework that fosters knowledge and resource sharing among developing nations. Both delegations framed the Caracas meeting as a pivotal milestone in the ongoing development of bilateral relations between Suriname and Venezuela, with both sides confirming their commitment to expanding existing partnership frameworks and advancing joint projects that deliver mutual benefits to their populations and economies.
Dialogue during the talks also addressed core regional priorities: the delegates emphasized the critical role of inclusive economic growth, expanded cross-border trade, and sustained regional stability for long-term development across the broader area. Both sides further underlined the urgent need for long-term sustainable cooperation across both the Caribbean region and the Amazon basin, two ecologically and economically vital areas shared by the two nations.
During the discussions, Bouva reaffirmed Suriname’s commitment to deepening its partnership with Venezuela, noting that the two sides will work to turn diplomatic understandings into concrete agreements that drive shared economic growth, advance regional integration, and strengthen long-term sustainable diplomatic ties. Both Suriname and Venezuela concluded the meeting by reaffirming that open, constructive dialogue, mutual respect for national sovereignty, and strategic cross-border collaboration remain foundational to advancing shared interests across the South American region.
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President Lai: Taiwan geeft zijn vrije en democratische levenswijze niet op onder druk
Fresh off high-stakes talks between U.S. and Chinese leaders that centered heavily on the Taiwan issue, Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has issued a clear rebuke of mounting pressure from Beijing, pledging the island will never be forced to abandon its democratic system and sovereign status.
In a social media post laying out his administration’s stance, Lai emphasized that Taiwan has no intention of provoking or escalating conflict across the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, he made clear the island will not sacrifice its national sovereignty, dignity, and free democratic way of life in the face of external coercion. Lai reiterated that Taiwan has long been a committed defender of the cross-strait status quo, and is not the party seeking to alter the current arrangement. He went so far as to name China as the fundamental source of regional instability in the area.
Beijing has long claimed Taiwan as an integral part of its territory, and has repeatedly threatened to use military force to achieve unification if the island formally moves toward independence. The Taiwan question remained a core, contentious topic during the recent summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
According to Chinese state media, Xi described the Taiwan issue as the single most sensitive core question in bilateral relations between Washington and Beijing. He warned that improper handling of the question could trigger severe conflict that would put the entire bilateral relationship at irreversible risk.
While the United States has not formally recognized Taiwan as an independent sovereign state, successive U.S. administrations have maintained robust unofficial support for the island, including through billions of dollars in arms sales and consistent diplomatic statements that imply Washington would intervene to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
Following his closed-door summit with Xi, Trump told reporters that Xi holds extremely firm opposition to any move toward Taiwanese independence. The U.S. president, however, declined to commit to approving a new $11 billion arms sales package to Taiwan that has already cleared approval from the U.S. Congress. “I haven’t approved it yet. We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters.
For his part, Lai framed U.S. security cooperation and arms deliveries to Taiwan as critical foundational elements for sustaining regional peace and stability. He argued that these commitments are not just a security guarantee from the U.S. to Taiwan, but also serve as the most effective deterrent to actions that would undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and broader Indo-Pacific region.
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Special Envoy: ‘Make Sex Offenders Registry Public’
Amid a swell of public anger over recent sexual assault allegations involving influential figures in public trust positions, Rossana Briceño, a special envoy based in Belize, has reignited national debate over offender transparency by calling for the country’s existing closed sex offender registry to be opened to full public access.
Briceño argues that no longer should convicted sex offenders – regardless of whether they hold positions of power as teachers, law enforcement officers, or other public-facing roles – be able to conceal their criminal histories behind the current restricted registry system. Her call to action centers on three core pillars: increased accountability for convicted offenders, greater governmental transparency around public safety data, and enhanced protective measures for vulnerable communities, particularly children.
Currently, Belize maintains an internal registry of convicted sex offenders overseen jointly by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the national Police Department. Unlike systems in many other jurisdictions that allow public access, this database remains completely closed to general citizenry, with access limited exclusively to authorized law enforcement personnel and a small number of selected childcare institutions.
Briceño emphasizes that the current policy of keeping offender identities hidden creates unnecessary danger for children. By opening the registry to the general public, she says, communities gain the most effective tool available to proactively protect their most vulnerable members and prevent future victimization.
Briceño’s statement has sparked widespread discussion across social media platforms, with the vast majority of online commenters expressing clear support for the proposal. One supporter framed the demand as a critical public safety priority, noting “Yes, we need this, and we need the punishment so strong that others will think twice to hurt any of our children.”
Even among commentators who back the push for a public registry, however, there have been calls for clearer policy details. Many have pressed for clarification on practical implementation questions, including whether new geographic restrictions will be put in place to bar offenders from living within set distances of schools, daycare centers and other child-focused facilities, as well as how user-friendly and widely accessible the public database will be for ordinary citizens.
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OAS mission recommends major electoral reforms in Bahamas
After the conclusion of The Bahamas’ latest general election that saw incumbent Prime Minister Philip Davis secure a second consecutive term, the Organization of American States (OAS) Electoral Observation Mission has released a detailed package of targeted recommendations designed to reinforce the integrity and efficiency of the Caribbean nation’s electoral processes.
Headlined by Sherry Tross, a veteran former diplomat from St. Kitts and Nevis, the mission’s top proposal calls for the creation of a fully independent electoral commission that operates outside of direct government oversight. The delegation also emphasized the urgent need for expanded investment in the country’s Parliamentary Registration Department, calling for boosted funding, advanced technical resources, and expanded staffing to support consistent, accessible election administration.
To modernize vote counting and data management, the mission has pushed for the adoption of a digital electronic results transmission system, alongside wider rollout of biometric voter identification cards and public online voter verification portals. Recognizing growing global threats to election infrastructure, the panel also stressed the critical importance of upgrading cybersecurity frameworks to protect sensitive electoral voter and results data from unauthorized access or manipulation.
Additional reforms put forward by the OAS team target transparency across all stages of the electoral cycle. The recommendations include updated requirements for clearer, more accessible campaign finance regulation, which would implement formal limits on both anonymous and foreign political donations to prevent outside influence over Bahamian elections. The mission also called for updated training protocols for poll workers, revised and more accessible electoral dispute resolution mechanisms, and new measures to boost transparency throughout campaign and voting periods.
In a nod to persistent gender gaps in Bahamian political representation, the delegation further proposed targeted policy measures to remove barriers to increased women’s participation in electoral politics and establish formal frameworks to address and reduce the prevalence of gender-based political violence, a challenge that disproportionately discourages women from entering public office across the region.
The May 12 general election delivered a clear outcome for the country, returning Prime Minister Philip Davis and his administration to office for a second consecutive term, setting the stage for policymakers to review and act on the OAS mission’s reform proposals in the coming months.
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Dominican Republic approves National Climate Transparency System
In a major step forward for regional climate action, the Dominican government has formally greenlit its groundbreaking National Climate Transparency System, a cutting-edge monitoring framework crafted to track greenhouse gas output, track progress on climate adaptation initiatives, and oversee the flow of climate-related funding across the country. This new infrastructure was developed through a collaborative partnership, with critical technical and strategic support provided by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, and aligns directly with the Enhanced Transparency Framework requirements laid out in the global Paris Climate Agreement.
Following the official approval, the Dominican Republic has secured its place as the fourth nation in Latin America to launch a dedicated climate transparency system, joining a small group of regional climate leaders that already includes Costa Rica, Colombia, and Chile. Beyond this milestone, the country has made history as the first across the entire Latin America and Caribbean region to embed a fully integrated Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework specifically for climate adaptation activities into its national transparency infrastructure.
Max Puig, a leading voice on Dominican climate policy, emphasized that the newly approved platform will deliver three core long-term benefits for the country: it will enable policymakers to clearly map unmet climate financing needs, accurately quantify the real-world impact of existing climate-focused investments, and strengthen the overall governance of national climate action strategy. Puig added that by publishing independently verified, openly accessible climate data, the Dominican Republic will significantly boost its credibility when pursuing international financing to support its ongoing just green energy transition.
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Abinader says freedom requires responsibility and constant commitment
MIAMI, Fla. — In a high-profile address to an international audience of political and business leaders Saturday, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader used his acceptance of the Champion of Freedom Award to deliver a sharp, thoughtful meditation on the fragile nature of liberty in the modern world. Presented with the honor by Florida International University’s Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom, a nonpartisan think tank launched in 2020 to advance free-market principles and global prosperity, Abinader emphasized that freedom cannot be taken for granted as a permanent inheritance — it demands continuous responsibility and active commitment from every generation.
The award recognizes Abinader’s tenure-long leadership advancing pro-market policy reforms in the Dominican Republic. In his remarks, he framed the honor as less a personal accolade and more an opportunity to renew public dialogue around what liberty means for 21st-century democratic societies. Warning of a growing risk that democratic communities erode their own freedoms when citizens trade autonomy for short-term security or comfort, Abinader rooted his argument in the core ideas of Adam Smith, the father of modern free-market economics, noting that durable economic freedom cannot exist without foundational commitments to justice, transparent institutional rules, and public trust in governing bodies.
Abinader outlined that his administration has centered its policy agenda on four core pillars aligned with these principles: strengthening independent governing institutions, embedding transparency across public operations, upholding the rule of law, and expanding accessible economic opportunity for all Dominicans. Drawing on centuries of political and philosophical thought to reinforce his argument, the president quoted the iconic literary figure Don Quixote and referenced works by seminal thinkers Alexis de Tocqueville and Isaiah Berlin to explain that true freedom carries two complementary dimensions: it requires freedom from unnecessary coercion, as well as the material and social opportunity for every person to build a dignified, self-determined future.
Against a global backdrop of rising political polarization, Abinader called for renewed commitment to cross-ideological dialogue, pluralism, and collaborative consensus-building. “Growth is not just about producing more. It is about allowing each person to imagine and build their own future,” he told the crowd, stressing that meaningful freedom and shared economic prosperity are inherently inseparable goals.
The invitation-only event drew a roster of high-profile attendees spanning government, global business, and international sports governance, including former Colombian President Iván Duque and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom, which conferred the award, was established in 2020 as an independent, nonpartisan research institution focused on advancing policy frameworks that expand economic freedom and drive human prosperity worldwide.
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Spanish Ambassador highlights strong economic ties with the Dominican Republic
In remarks timed to coincide with Europe Day, Spanish Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Lorea Arribalzaga Ceballos has emphasized that the partnership between the two nations extends far beyond formal diplomatic relations, rooted in shared community contributions and deepening economic cooperation across the Atlantic.
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Parliament says IC reports are being addressed in accordance with internal processes
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s bicameral Houses of Parliament has issued an official statement confirming it has received five investigative reports from the national Integrity Commission, confirming the documents have not yet been placed before either the lower House of Representatives or the upper Senate for formal debate and review. The parliamentary body clarified in the Monday statement that the submissions are currently moving through internal processing protocols, overseen by the legislature’s presiding officers, and that existing legislation governing the anti-corruption watchdog does not mandate a fixed deadline for the public tabling of these reports. The confirmation comes amid mounting public pressure from Opposition Leader Mark Golding, who has publicly demanded that a specific IC probe into the country’s Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) be tabled during the House of Representatives’ next sitting. Golding has openly rejected arguments that ongoing court proceedings connected to the FLA investigation provide legal justification for withholding the report from public view. In line with statutory confidentiality requirements that apply to all IC reports before they are formally tabled, parliamentary officials noted they cannot disclose any details about the content of the five received reports. This includes refusing to confirm or deny the subject matter of any submission, any findings or policy recommendations included in the documents, or whether any specific individuals or entities are referenced in the investigations. While Parliament acknowledged it is aware of both the opposition’s correspondence regarding the FLA report and the ongoing related court proceedings, it emphasized its constitutional authority to manage its own internal procedural rules, including the process for laying submitted documents before the full legislature. “The Integrity Commission Act does not prescribe a specific timeline or procedure for the tabling of reports submitted to Parliament. The reports will therefore be dealt with in accordance with Parliament’s constitutional, legal and procedural responsibilities,” the statement read. Closing out its official comment, the legislature reaffirmed its institutional commitment to core governance principles of transparency, public accountability, and full adherence to national law, adding that no further substantive updates will be released to the public at this stage of processing.