分类： politics

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders have positioned the regional bloc as a potential diplomatic bridge between the United States and Cuba while urgently calling for humanitarian assistance to alleviate the island’s escalating crisis. The appeals were made during the opening session of the CARICOM mid-term summit in St. Kitts on January 24, 2026.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, former CARICOM chairman, emphasized the critical need for “responsible statecraft rather than rhetoric” in addressing Cuba’s severe economic hardships, energy shortages, and growing humanitarian strain. While acknowledging Jamaica’s status as a moderate U.S. ally, Holness asserted that “space exists, perhaps more than in years past, for pragmatic engagement that protects the Cuban people from further deterioration.”

Current CARICOM Chairman Dr. Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, echoed these sentiments, highlighting the community’s potential role as “a conduit to ensure communication and dialogue between the forces that be.” Drawing from his personal experience as a former student in Cuba, Drew expressed profound concern about the distressing messages he receives from Cuban contacts describing food shortages, electricity outages, and garbage accumulation.

Both leaders issued stark warnings about regional implications, with Holness cautioning that “a prolonged crisis in Cuba will not remain confined to Cuba” but would inevitably affect “migration, security, and economic stability across the Caribbean basin.” Drew reinforced this assessment, noting that a destabilized Cuba with its 9-12 million population would inevitably impact CARICOM nations whose combined population remains under 10 million.

The humanitarian advocacy emerged against a complex geopolitical backdrop. Several CARICOM members, including Guyana, have recently terminated decades-old Cuban Medical Brigade agreements under U.S. pressure regarding forced labor concerns. Meanwhile, the U.S. has further tightened its 64-year economic embargo following Venezuela’s political changes.

Not all CARICOM voices aligned with this approach. Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, a self-declared U.S. ally, criticized fellow members for what she characterized as diplomatic hypocrisy. “We cannot advocate for others to live under communism and dictatorship while we want to live under democracy and capitalism,” she asserted, maintaining her government’s refusal to support “dictatorships in Cuba or anywhere else.”

In a striking geopolitical divergence, a community hospital in France’s Cévennes region is pursuing medical cooperation with Cuba even as Caribbean nations sever ties with Havana’s medical program under US pressure. The Cuban Foreign Ministry announced that the Defense Committee of the Cévennes Hospital formally presented a cooperation proposal to Cuban embassy officials on Monday, seeking to bring Cuban doctors to serve multiple communes including Alès, Ardèche, and Lozère.

The diplomatic engagement occurred amid heightened tensions following the January 2026 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US forces, which disrupted Cuba’s vital fuel supplies from Venezuela. The Trump administration has threatened severe tariffs against countries supplying fuel to Havana and visa revocations for officials involved in what the US State Department characterizes as ‘trafficking in persons’ through Cuba’s medical missions.

Cuban Second Chief of Mission Justo Rodríguez met with French officials including Sylvain André, mayor of Cendras, and Jean-Michel Suau representing the Hospital Defense Committee. According to Cuban authorities, Rodríguez expressed Cuba’s willingness to ‘respond positively’ once France establishes necessary legal and administrative frameworks. The proposal currently exists as a pilot program in selected municipalities.

The Cuban diplomat subsequently toured the Alès Cévennes Hospital Center with Director General Christian Cataldo to discuss practical implementation details. The visit concluded with expressions of political support from the French Communist Party’s Gard Federation and solidarity associations including Cuba Cooperation France.

This development contrasts sharply with recent actions by Guyana and other CARICOM members who have terminated medical agreements with Cuba following US allegations that Havana confiscates 75-95% of medical workers’ salaries, leaving them with inadequate compensation. The US maintains that Cuba’s program constitutes forced labor, while Cuba defends its international medical cooperation as humanitarian assistance.

In a significant move to combat the transnational threat of synthetic narcotics, the United States has enhanced Guyana’s drug detection capabilities through a specialized forensic training program. From February 9-13, 2026, professionals from the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL) participated in an intensive technical exchange hosted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Southeast Laboratory in Miami, Florida.

The training initiative, funded by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, combined theoretical instruction with hands-on laboratory practices. Participants received advanced training in Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques specifically tailored for detecting synthetic drugs including fentanyl—a potent opioid responsible for numerous fatalities across the Americas.

The program provided forensic scientists with real-world operational context, including observation of DEA laboratory personnel processing a 200-kilogram bulk seizure of suspected cocaine. This collaborative effort brought together forensic experts from multiple Caribbean nations, including laboratory directors, chemists, and quality assurance managers from Saint Lucia, Jamaica, and The Bahamas.

The U.S. Embassy in Georgetown emphasized that this training represents a concrete step in implementing Executive Order 14367, which designates fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. The initiative directly addresses critical capability gaps in regional synthetic narcotic detection, safe handling procedures, evidence preservation, and standardized reporting protocols.

This capacity-building effort forms part of the broader GUARDS program (Global Uniform Analysis and Reporting of Drug-Related Substances) administered by the DEA, aimed at establishing consistent forensic standards across participating nations. The collaboration underscores the United States’ commitment to regional security cooperation in dismantling transnational criminal organizations and curbing illicit narcotics trafficking throughout the hemisphere.