Carib Scope

分类： politics

  • Witness Missing? Extortion Charge Against Immigration Officer Dismissed

    Witness Missing? Extortion Charge Against Immigration Officer Dismissed

    In a case that has lingered for more than two years, criminal extortion proceedings against immigration officer Monique Escalante have been terminated without a trial, after authorities failed to locate the Jamaican traveler who first brought the $3,000 extortion allegation against her.

    The legal saga began in March 2024, when Janhoi Shaun-Dhee Richards, a Jamaican national, filed a formal complaint alleging that Escalante and two other unidentified immigration personnel confronted him shortly after his arrival at Philip Goldson International Airport. According to Richards’ original claim, when he told the officers he was carrying no large sums of cash, they escorted him directly to an on-site ATM, where he was forced to withdraw $3,000 USD and hand the money over to the group.

    Following the filing of charges, Escalante, who has repeatedly maintained her innocence, was placed on official administrative interdiction and released on bail ahead of trial. She remained out on bail through the entire duration of the pre-trial process, and reappeared at the High Court for a scheduled hearing on Tuesday this week.

    Prosecutors from the Crown spent months attempting to contact Richards to secure his testimony for the trial, reaching out through every available channel: phone calls, email communications, and direct outreach via social media platforms. None of these efforts yielded a response, and the key witness could not be located to appear in court to give evidence. Left with no in-person testimony, prosecutors applied to have Richards’ original out-of-court statement admitted into the record as hearsay evidence.

    The admissibility of this statement was debated at length during a pre-trial voir dire hearing, where four separate witnesses gave testimony related to the issue of the statement’s credibility.

    In his final ruling, Justice Pilgrim granted the no-case submission put forward by Escalante’s defense attorney Leslie Hamilton. With the prosecution’s central witness unavailable to give sworn testimony in court, and Richards’ out-of-court statement deemed insufficient to sustain the extortion charge on its own, the Crown entered a formal nolle prosequi — a legal order that formally discontinues the prosecution — bringing the entire case to a close.

  • Rechtstaat ondermijnd door vrijlopende moordenaar

    Rechtstaat ondermijnd door vrijlopende moordenaar

    Four decades after the devastating December 8, 1982 killings that shook Suriname, the legacy of unresolved justice remains a open wound for grieving families and a stain on the country’s democratic institutions. In a forceful statement released September 16, Stichting 8 December 1982 (the December 8, 1982 Foundation) has issued a sharp condemnation of the Surinamese government’s ongoing failure to detain Leendert Dijksteel, a convicted murderer directly implicated in the 1982 mass killing case, who remains at large decades after his conviction.

    For the relatives of the 15 unarmed civilian victims killed in the 1982 incident, this unaddressed injustice has turned a court verdict into a hollow promise. While a court has formally handed down a guilty finding against Dijksteel, no authority has moved to enforce that ruling, leaving the convicted killer free to move across the country while victim’s families continue to grapple with the pain of losing their loved ones. The foundation describes this reality as completely unacceptable: a core violation of the basic promise of justice that a state owes to its citizens.

    Worse, the foundation argues, this ongoing failure to enforce the conviction undermines the very foundations of Suriname’s rule of law. A nation that allows convicted violent offenders to evade custody and lets suspects disappear without trace cannot credibly claim to be a functioning, rights-respecting state. The persistent impunity for Dijksteel carries four far-reaching harms that damage Suriname’s social and political fabric, the foundation outlines.

    First, it enables outright impunity for a severe crime against humanity, sending a dangerous message that grave violence against civilians can go unpunished. Second, it systematically erodes public trust in the country’s judiciary and law enforcement agencies, when citizens see that even finalized court rulings are not enforced. Third, it poses a direct, ongoing threat to public safety: a convicted mass murderer is able to move freely through communities, with no oversight to prevent further harm. Fourth, the failure to act violates Suriname’s binding international human rights obligations, as the country is a signatory to multiple international treaties that require states to guarantee equal access to justice and uphold the rule of law for all.

    In closing, the foundation issued an urgent demand to Suriname’s national authorities: launch immediate, full-scale efforts using every available resource to locate and take Dijksteel into custody without delay. Only through decisive, forceful action can Suriname demonstrate that its legal system does not bend to political convenience or bureaucratic apathy, the foundation says. Only by enforcing this conviction can the country prove that its justice system exists first to protect its citizens, and to honor the memory of the 15 people killed on December 8, 1982.

    The statement was signed by Sunil Oemrawsingh, chair of Stichting 8 December 1982.

  • Dominican Migration Institute and UN discuss joint initiatives on migration

    Dominican Migration Institute and UN discuss joint initiatives on migration

    In a high-level strategic meeting held in Santo Domingo, leadership from the Dominican Republic’s National Migration Institute (INM) and senior representatives of the United Nations System gathered to map out a path for deeper collaborative work on migration management.

    José Benedicto Hernández, INM’s executive director, led the institute’s delegation, which met with Julia del Carmen Sánchez, the UN System’s resident coordinator in the Caribbean nation, alongside heads of multiple UN operational agencies. The discussions centered on two core objectives: unlocking new opportunities for joint programming and aligning with the priority agenda of INM’s newly installed administration.

    A key focus of the talks was advancing work in five high-impact areas: applied migration research, specialized professional training for migration officials, standardized migration data collection, data-driven policy analysis, and long-term institutional capacity building for INM.

    During the meeting, Hernández laid out his administration’s transformative vision for INM: to evolve the institution beyond its regulatory role into a regional hub of knowledge, research, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. This vision is anchored by five clear strategic pillars that guide all of the institute’s current and future work: research to build a nuanced understanding of migration dynamics, training to drive systemic change, innovation to modernize outdated migration governance processes, cross-sector cooperation to accelerate progress, and intentional knowledge sharing to connect migration research with broader Dominican society.

    Sánchez echoed Hernández’s commitment to partnership, emphasizing INM’s central role in tackling the complex, evolving migration challenges that the Dominican Republic currently faces. She underlined that sustained, close alignment between the UN system and INM is critical to effective migration governance.

    She further noted that human mobility is a cross-cutting issue that touches nearly every dimension of the UN’s work in the country. Any effective approach to managing migration requires coordinated, holistic action that accounts for both internal migration shifts within the Dominican Republic and the country’s ongoing bilateral migration relationships with neighboring and partner nations.

    Wednesday’s meeting is part of a broader, ongoing push to strengthen coordination between national authorities and international bodies working on migration in the Dominican Republic. The broader goal of these efforts is to embed empirical research and evidence-based analysis into the core of national migration policy development, ensuring policies respond to actual on-the-ground dynamics rather than assumptions.

  • Pintard demands answers over more than $400m

    Pintard demands answers over more than $400m

    A growing political controversy over public fund management has intensified in the Bahamas, as opposition leader Michael Pintard is demanding full transparency from the current administration over more than $400 million in unaccounted funds allocated to the country’s National Investment Fund (NIF).

    The government previously disclosed that it transferred roughly $700 million in excess borrowing proceeds into the NIF, a dedicated vehicle for infrastructure and national development projects. During a recent address to Parliament, Finance Minister Michael Halkitis outlined how $310.9 million of the total funds had been allocated to public infrastructure projects: $210.6 million went toward general building and road upgrades, while an additional $100.3 million was earmarked for aviation infrastructure improvements.

    What Halkitis did not address, Pintard argues, is the fate of the remaining $400 million that the government itself confirmed was moved into the fund. In his remarks to reporters, Pintard pushed the administration to release a full line-item breakdown of all NIF transactions and disclose the exact banking location of the unaccounted funds. “Rather than be distracted by the minister speaking about all of the projects that they are working on, we want to first start this discussion with where is the money? Account for the 700 million. Which account is it on?” Pintard said.

    Questions about the fund’s legitimacy deepened after Central Bank Governor John Rolle confirmed a key, troubling detail: despite the existence of an NIF-named account held at the Central Bank, the NIF’s legally mandated Board of Governors has never formally convened. Under the existing National Investment Funds Act, a board of governors is required to oversee the fund’s management, governance, and spending activities.

    To address this gap, Halkitis told Parliament that the Ministry of Finance has been administering NIF funds through the ministry and the national Treasury, under the framework of the Public Finance Management Act, while permanent governance structures for the NIF were being finalized. He added that the government sought formal legal guidance from the Office of the Attorney General to clarify how the Public Finance Management Act, the National Investment Funds Act, and Parliament’s official borrowing authority intersect in this scenario. Halkitis also confirmed that Parliament authorized up to $300 million in borrowing for the NIF in March 2025, and that the NIF’s Board of Directors was officially appointed effective June 30, 2025, though the government has acknowledged that some governance frameworks remain incomplete.

    This explanation has done little to ease opposition concerns, with Pintard rejecting the administration’s justification and accusing the government of operating outside the legal parameters laid out in NIF legislation. “His legal basis for moving millions of dollars out of the National Investment Fund was not the National Investment Act,” Pintard said. “They did not follow the law.” Pintard argues that the funds have been held directly by the Ministry of Finance without the independent oversight required under the NIF’s founding law, creating two alarming possibilities: either NIF resources were managed in violation of existing legislation, or the funds are being held in a separate Ministry of Finance account entirely outside the NIF structure. If the latter is true, Pintard noted, new questions emerge about how these transactions have been recorded in the government’s official fiscal accounts.

    In response to the growing lack of clarity, Pintard announced that the opposition-controlled Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has approved a formal investigation into the NIF, with the national Treasurer expected to be called to testify as early as next week. The opposition is pursuing multiple avenues to secure full disclosure, Pintard confirmed, including the PAC probe and potential future court action if necessary. “We will go to court at the appropriate time once we are armed with the right advice,” he said.

    Pintard pushed back against criticism that the opposition failed to aggressively question the government during the recent parliamentary sitting, noting that the PAC probe provides a formal, structured mechanism to thoroughly scrutinize all NIF transactions. For his part, Halkitis has stated that the government will fully cooperate with the committee’s investigation. Pintard emphasized that the opposition does not oppose the infrastructure projects the government has outlined, but insists on full accountability for how public funds are handled. “What we do not believe is that he’s giving a proper explanation on where the money came from and by what rules did he apply those money to those projects,” Pintard added.

  • Finance Minister: Cost of royal visit is still being worked out

    Finance Minister: Cost of royal visit is still being worked out

    As The Bahamas prepares to welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla for their first visit to the island nation since Charles ascended to the British throne in 2022, Bahamian officials remain unable to disclose how much public money will be spent on the trip, igniting fresh debate over the constitutional role of the monarchy and calls for reparations for colonial-era harms.

    Finance Minister Michael Halkitis confirmed last week that interagency working groups are still calculating the total financial burden of the royal tour, scheduled to take place between October 27 and November 4 as part of a broader Caribbean trip that will also include stops in Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, where the monarch will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. While Halkitis confirmed a cost-sharing agreement is in place between the Bahamian government and the United Kingdom’s Sovereign Grant, which funds official royal duties, he said no final figures have been submitted for cabinet review.

    “I can’t put any numbers to it,” Halkitis told reporters. “I understand that the various agencies are meeting, the Ministry of Finance and some of the other agencies are meeting. I’ll get a report on what it is… When we get that information, we’ll share it.”

    Unlike visits from heads of state of foreign countries, this tour carries unique constitutional weight: King Charles remains the official Head of State of The Bahamas, a Commonwealth realm that gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1973 but retains the British monarch as its ceremonial head of government. This marks Charles’ second official trip to The Bahamas, and his first since succeeding his mother Queen Elizabeth II following her death in September 2022.

    The lack of transparency around costs has fueled online speculation and drawn sharp criticism from the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, which is organizing advocacy for reparations to address the harms of British chattel slavery and colonial rule in the country. The committee argues that requiring Bahamian taxpayers to cover any portion of the royal visit’s cost is unacceptable amid ongoing calls for the country to transition to a republican system of government that cuts formal ties to the British monarchy.

    “The time is now for reparations. The time is now for the republic,” the committee said in a statement. “And the time is long past for our governments to stop preparing this country for guests and then hand us the bill.”

    Public discussion around the upcoming visit has drawn comparisons to the 2022 royal tour of The Bahamas by Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, held to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. For that trip, the Bahamian government earmarked $636,194 in public funds to cover event costs. Budget breakdowns from that tour showed most of the public funding went to local vendors and businesses on New Providence, with additional allocations covering accommodation for the royal party, security provisions, digital infrastructure upgrades for local schools, the official royal ball, a commemorative regatta, and charter flights on national carrier Bahamasair between the country’s major islands.

  • St. Kitts and Nevis Moves to Let Overseas-Born Grandchildren Become Citizens

    St. Kitts and Nevis Moves to Let Overseas-Born Grandchildren Become Citizens

    After decades of advocacy from overseas communities, the Cabinet of Saint Christopher and Nevis has given formal approval to table the long-awaited Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026 before the National Assembly. If enacted, the landmark legislation will create new eligibility pathways for adult descendants of the country’s founding citizens who were born abroad, resolving a longstanding inequity in the nation’s citizenship laws that has stood since independence in 1983.

    Under the current framework outlined in Saint Kitts and Nevis’ Constitution, automatic citizenship by descent is only extended to people born overseas if one of their direct parents was born within the Federation. Adults born in subsequent generations – those who can trace citizenship eligibility only through a grandparent who gained citizenship at independence in September 1983, or whose parent became a citizen by descent rather than birth – have previously been locked out of any legal route to claim citizenship. The gap has disproportionately impacted members of the country’s large global diaspora, who have campaigned for reform across multiple successive national administrations.

    Diaspora advocates have raised the issue consistently for more than 40 years, through formal correspondence with government officials, engagement with Saint Kitts and Nevis’ overseas diplomatic missions, and advocacy work through diaspora and family community groups. Most recently, the pressure culminated in a formal petition submitted directly to the National Assembly in 2025, which pushed the current administration to advance the legislative reform.

    Acting Prime Minister Dr. Geoffrey Hanley emphasized that the bill directly responds to the decades-long calls from overseas communities. “This Bill corrects a gap that has existed since 1983 and our diaspora have asked for this for a long time, and this Administration has listened,” Hanley stated. He clarified that the new eligibility rules are targeted and regulated, not an open pathway for all people with distant ancestry: “The pathway is a defined one. An adult born after Independence whose parent or grandparent became a citizen at Independence may apply, subject to proof and security screening. It is not a general claim based on ancestry.”

    Two illustrative examples demonstrate how the reform will change outcomes for eligible diaspora members. First, a 23-year-old woman born in Hamilton, Bermuda, whose grandfather was born in Dieppe Bay, Saint Kitts, was previously denied citizenship because the Constitution only extends automatic descent rights to children of parents born in the Federation. Her mother was also born in Bermuda, leaving her with no existing eligibility. Under the new grandparent-focused pathway in the bill, she will be able to submit an application supported by her grandfather’s birth certificate.

    The second example involves a 30-year-old man born in New York City in 1996. His father was born in Brooklyn in 1965, and gained Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship at independence because his own mother (the man’s grandmother) was born in Gingerland, Nevis. When the man was a child, his father was eligible to apply to register him for citizenship, but failed to do so before the man turned 18 – when the minor eligibility lapsed. Under the new bill, the man can now submit an application in his own right based on his father’s citizenship status.

    The bill is scheduled to have its first reading in the National Assembly on September 18, 2026. If passed by legislators, the government will draft implementing regulations that outline the official application form, required supporting documentation, and application fees. The amendment will officially go into effect on a date set by the responsible government minister, and full details of the application process will be published publicly before the application window opens.

    In the lead-up to the process launching, government officials have advised eligible members of the diaspora to begin collecting and authenticating their family historical records, including birth, marriage and citizenship documents. Officials have also stressed that applications cannot be accepted until the government formally announces the opening of the application portal, to avoid processing delays and confusion.

  • Elections : Strengthening women’s participation in political life

    Elections : Strengthening women’s participation in political life

    Against a long-standing backdrop of gender imbalance in Haitian governance, the country’s Ministry of the Status of Women kicked off a landmark three-day series of cross-party consultations on September 14, 2026, aimed at cementing greater female representation in the upcoming national elections. Hosted at Pétion-Ville’s Hotel Montana, the initiative carries a clear, ambitious goal: securing commitments from all major political forces to deliver at least 30 percent female participation across every stage of the electoral process.

    The opening day of talks drew senior representatives from five of Haiti’s most prominent political organizations. Attendees included former Senator Joseph Lambert of Konbit Nasyonal (KONA), former Deputy Ketel Jean Phillipe of the Organisation du Peuple en Lutte (OPL), and delegations from the DEBLOKE party, LAPEH, and the An Avan Pou Ayiti coalition. In her welcoming address to the gathered stakeholders, Women’s Affairs Minister Pedrica Saint Jean praised the cross-party turnout, framing collective commitment to expanding women’s political access as a non-negotiable pillar of a healthy, representative democracy. Saint Jean underscored that inclusive access to decision-making roles does not just advance gender equity—it strengthens the legitimacy and responsiveness of Haiti’s governing institutions as a whole.

    Following the opening remarks, attorney Mosler Georges led a detailed walkthrough of the newly updated electoral decree, centering the 12 key articles that contain provisions designed to remove barriers for female candidates. The session broke down both the new legal opportunities opened to women and the formal obligations placed on political parties to identify, nurture, and support women seeking public office. From there, open discussions turned to actionable strategies to streamline the process of recruiting, registering, positioning, and protecting female candidates ahead of polling day.

    Participants did not shy away from acknowledging the deeply rooted challenges that continue to suppress women’s political advancement in Haiti. Attendees collectively identified consistent difficulties in recruiting women to run for office, compounded by a lack of sufficient financial and logistical backing for female candidates, widespread political insecurity that disproportionately discourages women from participating, and persistent harmful social norms that frame political leadership as a male-only domain. Political organization representatives also emphasized that beyond temporary candidate recruitment, long-term investment is needed to build a sustained pipeline of trained, qualified women ready to assume elected office and leadership roles across government.

    The first day closed with a synthesis of key takeaways and an outline of priorities for the remaining sessions. On September 15, the second day of consultations expanded the conversation to include another slate of major political stakeholders, including former Senator Youri Latortue of the Ayiti An Avan (AAA) party, former Minister-Delegate Patrick Sully Joseph of the COPPOS-Haïti & Allies coalition, Djina Guillet Delatour, former Director of the National School Canteen Program, representing the Delivrans party, and representatives from the Engagés pour le Développement (EDE) and KAPAB political groups.

    Saint Jean opened the second day by reaffirming the core mission of the consultations, noting that while persistent structural barriers continue to block women’s access to electoral politics, their full inclusion remains an essential foundation of a legitimate democratic process. She framed the multi-day dialogue as a critical collaborative space: by bringing political actors to the table, the ministry can gain a clearer on-the-ground understanding of the challenges female candidates face, and co-design targeted support mechanisms for women planning to stand in the upcoming vote.

    Georges repeated his deep dive into the new electoral decree’s gender equity provisions on the second day, once again highlighting the 12 key articles (numbered 22, 27, 30, 37, 45, 108, 114, 122, 139, 140, 142, and 158) that shape requirements and opportunities for female participation. The presentation sparked fresh, targeted discussions between the ministry and party representatives on how to implement the decree’s provisions effectively, and what structural changes are needed to create more accessible conditions for women to run competitive campaigns.

    As of September 16, the consultation series entered its final day, with additional political parties and groupings joining the conversation to wrap up planning for the initiative. When complete, the talks are expected to produce a shared roadmap for delivering on the 30 percent participation target, laying the groundwork for the most gender-inclusive electoral cycle in Haiti’s recent history.

  • Creative Grant Fund gets going after year-long wait

    Creative Grant Fund gets going after year-long wait

    After a year of coordination, funding adjustments, and application screening, the Government of Saint Lucia has officially begun distribution of the long-awaited Creative Economy Grant Fund (CEGF), a initiative designed to empower local creative workers across multiple artistic disciplines. The program was first unveiled to the public in August of the previous year, when the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industries and Culture launched an open call for applications, inviting creators of all experience levels to pursue the transformative opportunity the fund offers. The program offers maximum individual grants of up to EC$10,000, aimed at helping both emerging and established creatives advance their artistic projects—from dancers and independent filmmakers to writers and visual artists, spanning nearly every major creative sector in the island nation.

    When the program was first announced, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre allocated an initial EC$350,000 to support the initiative. But government officials quickly found that the original budget was far insufficient to match the overwhelming response from creative communities across Saint Lucia. By the time applications closed, the Ministry had received more than 1,000 submissions requesting a combined total of EC$8.2 million in funding—far outstripping the initial allocation.

    At the official press launch for the fund rollout held Tuesday, Creative Industries Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire shared details of the program’s bumpy development path. Recognizing the gap between available funding and widespread demand, Hilaire approached the Prime Minister to request additional budget to support more eligible applicants. Following discussions between the minister and Prime Minister Pierre, an extra EC$1 million was secured from an undisclosed funding source to expand the program’s total budget. However, negotiating this additional allocation and finalizing administrative processes extended the waiting period for applicants.

    Speaking to assembled grant recipients, journalists, and ministry staff, Hilaire acknowledged the extended wait for early applicants, noting that the extended timeline had been frustrating for both applicants and program administrators. “In all fairness, for some individuals who applied very early, it’s been a long wait. And in the public service, our duty is to serve,” Hilaire said. “We were frustrated with the process. But sometimes we just have to understand that things take time and processes have to be followed.”

    Following the approval of the national budget in April, a total of 350 creatives were selected to receive grants, with awardees spread across categories including music, visual arts, crafts, film, design, literary arts, community creative projects, traditional folk arts, and theatre. Disbursement of grant cheques to approved applicants began in September, with the ministry working to distribute funds to as many of the 350 selected creatives as possible with the expanded budget. “It really took some time. It’s no fault of yours, it’s no fault of the ministry; we really were trying to get more money to satisfy more of the demands that we had, distributing to as many of the 350,” Hilaire explained.

    For approved applicants planning to import equipment or materials from overseas for their creative projects, formal approval of customs duty exemptions promised under the program is still pending final sign-off from the Saint Lucia Cabinet. Looking ahead, the government has announced plans to establish the CEGF as a permanent annual program to continue supporting the island’s growing creative economy into the future.

  • Flood-Beaubrun threatens legal action against Richard Frederick

    Flood-Beaubrun threatens legal action against Richard Frederick

    A high-profile political dispute has erupted in Saint Lucia, with former Castries Central MP Sarah Flood-Beaubrun confirming she is preparing potential legal action against incumbent MP Richard Frederick over controversial comments he made during a recent television appearance.

    Speaking at an official press conference hosted by the opposition United Workers Party this Tuesday, Flood-Beaubrun revealed she has already passed video clips of Frederick’s September 10 broadcast to her legal team for formal review. The clips were shared with her by members of the public who raised concerns about the content of his remarks. She noted that her next steps will be shaped entirely by the legal guidance her attorneys provide, emphasizing that any action she takes is not for personal gain, but to uphold standards of integrity for all public officeholders.

    “For those who have reached out to express their concern, I want to reassure you I will take every necessary step to protect my reputation,” Flood-Beaubrun stated. “This is not just for me – it is as a public citizen. I firmly believe integrity in public life matters.”

    While Flood-Beaubrun has not explicitly named which specific comments she is challenging, the segment in question was Frederick’s return episode of his long-running program *Can I Help You*, which aired just over a month ago. The broadcast marked his comeback to the show after a two-month hiatus, triggered by his brief detention by police over unsubstantiated criminal allegations in early July. Police ultimately announced their investigation failed to turn up enough evidence to support the claims against him.

    During the September 10 episode, Frederick repeatedly questioned the management of Synergy, a personal development training and recruitment initiative Flood-Beaubrun launched when she held the Castries Central parliamentary seat. His inquiries focused specifically on alleged public payments routed through the Saint Lucia Social Development Fund (SSDF) connected to the program. At the time, Frederick – who is currently facing his own scrutiny linked to the SSDF – openly challenged any critic who disputed his claims, issuing a bold on-air dare: “I challenge you to call me a liar.”

    Flood-Beaubrun pushed back against these unproven claims, arguing that all allegations against public officials deserve to be examined through a formal, vetted process rather than spread through public broadcasts. “If an allegation has been made, I owe it to the public interest to ensure it is properly debated and tested in the appropriate forum, which is a court of law,” she said.

    The unfolding controversy comes as Frederick remains on administrative leave from his cabinet post as Minister of Housing, Local Government and Urban Renewal, a decision made in response to separate SSDF-linked investigations. Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, leader of the ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party, has repeatedly stressed that placing Frederick on administrative leave is not a finding of guilt, but a procedural step to allow an unbiased probe to move forward.

  • Former Miss Tennessee USA Nominated as US Ambassador to Antigua and Six Other Caribbean Nations

    Former Miss Tennessee USA Nominated as US Ambassador to Antigua and Six Other Caribbean Nations

    In a White House announcement released Monday, Kimberly Greenwood, a 59-year-old pageant leader with nearly two decades of experience in the Miss Universe organization, has been tapped to serve as the U.S. ambassador to seven Caribbean nations. If confirmed, Greenwood will represent the United States in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

    Greenwood’s career has long been rooted in pageantry: she currently holds the position of executive director for the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA state competitions across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia, building on 18 years of internal work with the global Miss Universe organization. Before her work in pageant leadership, she earned the title of Miss Tennessee USA earlier in her career.

    Beyond her professional roles, Greenwood has personal and political ties to conservative circles in the U.S. She is married to Lee Greenwood, a legendary country music singer famous for his iconic patriotic anthem “God Bless the U.S.A.” The couple first crossed paths during a USO tour, where they were supporting deployed American service members. For decades, Lee Greenwood has been a prominent backer of Republican political causes, and has even performed at multiple campaign and official events for former President Donald Trump.

    As with all presidential ambassadorial nominations, Greenwood’s appointment requires formal confirmation by the U.S. Senate before she can assume her post. No timeline for the confirmation hearing has been announced publicly as of yet.