Carib Scope

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  • USA : First ICE deportation flight to Haiti since the end of TPS

    USA : First ICE deportation flight to Haiti since the end of TPS

    In a landmark move that underscores shifting U.S. immigration policy toward Haitian migrants, the first U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation flight to Haiti touched down at Cap-Haitien International Airport just before noon on August 20, 2026. The charter flight, which departed from Alexandria, Louisiana, carried 161 Haitian-connected deportees, marking the first such repatriation flight since the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 300,000 Haitians living in the United States one month prior.

    Haiti’s National Migration Office (Office National de Migration, ONM) had initially projected that 175 individuals would be on board the flight, but ONM Director General Jean Négot Bonheur Delva confirmed the final count stood at 161, including minor children. The group of deportees covers a broad spectrum of immigration statuses and backgrounds: it includes people who entered the U.S. without formal authorization, participants in the U.S. Humanitarian Parole program who now face expulsion, individuals directly affected by the recent TPS termination, people who had completed sentences for criminal convictions in the U.S., and even a number of people born outside Haiti in countries such as Chile and the Dominican Republic, who were sent to Haiti on the basis of having at least one Haitian citizen parent.

    Upon disembarking, all deportees received basic administrative processing from ONM personnel and a one-time financial assistance payment of 76.40 U.S. dollars from the Haitian government to help them reach their final destinations within the country. However, this stipend falls drastically short of covering even basic travel costs: a one-way commercial flight from Cap-Haitien to Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince costs roughly 250 dollars. For those who opt to travel overland, the payment may only cover passage through gang-controlled road checkpoints — a route that carries severe safety risks amid the country’s ongoing instability.

    In a separate announcement, U.S. authorities confirmed plans to ramp up deportation flight frequency to two scheduled flights per week, a move that will result in at least 250 Haitian migrants being repatriated weekly. This expansion of deportation operations comes at a moment when Haiti is already grappling with widespread gang violence, a collapsed healthcare system, and one of the worst humanitarian crises in the western hemisphere, leaving local authorities and aid organizations stretched to their limits to absorb new arrivals.

  • Dominican sailor rescued after catamaran becomes overdue near Sint Maarten

    Dominican sailor rescued after catamaran becomes overdue near Sint Maarten

    A multi-national maritime search and rescue mission has successfully recovered a 58-year-old Dominican sailor who went missing during a voyage between the British Virgin Islands and Sint Maarten, ending a days-long search with a positive outcome for the stranded mariner.

    U.S. Coast Guard officials confirmed that Peter Baron was located alive and unharmed on Thursday afternoon, August 13. His 45-foot sailing catamaran, named Ocean Time, was found roughly 11 nautical miles off the western coast of Sint Maarten, after coordinated efforts from search and rescue teams across three nations.

    The search operation was launched after Baron’s family filed an overdue vessel report, following the sailor’s failure to reach his scheduled destination. The mission brought together maritime authorities from the United States, the Netherlands, and France to comb the open waters for the missing craft.

    Baron’s trouble at sea began before his final departure, according to investigation details. During an initial attempt to sail from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands to Sint Maarten, his catamaran suffered a critical steering system failure. He returned to Tortola to carry out repairs, and set out again on Sunday, confident that the fixes would hold. But after leaving the port, Baron never arrived at his planned destination, triggering the alert that launched the cross-border search.

    A U.S. Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry patrol aircraft, deployed from Air Station Miami, was the first asset to spot the disabled vessel. Aircrews observed that Baron was using an emergency tiller to manually steer the crippled catamaran while waiting for assistance. After the location was confirmed, a Dutch Coast Guard vessel was dispatched to reach the craft and make contact with the sailor.

    Once on scene, Dutch crews verified Baron’s identity and conducted a preliminary health check, finding that he had sustained no injuries and had no ongoing medical issues. Inspectors also confirmed that despite the steering failure, the catamaran remained structurally sound and seaworthy enough to be towed to port.

    The partially disabled sailing vessel was ultimately towed to Simpson Bay in Sint Maarten, where it was safely brought into harbor. Dutch Coast Guard teams also assisted Baron in reconnecting with his family, relaying confirmation that he had survived the ordeal unharmed.

    Cmdr. Matthew Romano, search and rescue mission coordinator for the U.S. Coast Guard, commended the seamless cooperation between all participating agencies. “This successful outcome is a direct result of open communication and coordinated action between our French, Dutch, and Virgin Islands partners,” Romano said. He also used the incident to issue a public reminder to all seafarers: before departing on any voyage, mariners must ensure they carry fully functional, reliable communication equipment and visible emergency signaling devices. These simple preparations, Romano stressed, can make the difference between life and death during an unplanned emergency at sea.

  • Transferred Asylum Seekers Face Uncertain Futures

    Transferred Asylum Seekers Face Uncertain Futures

    Long before the Safe Third Country Agreement became a topic of heated public debate, most public discussion has centered on one narrow question: which asylum seekers will Belize agree to accept under the terms of the deal. Far less attention has been paid to the fates that await these vulnerable people once they cross into the Central American nation, a gap that new remarks from top Belizean foreign affairs official Oscar Arnold have begun to fill.

    In comments during a recent broadcast, Arnold, who serves as CEO of Belize’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, outlined the strict parameters that govern the lives of transferred asylum seekers from the moment they arrive. Contrary to some assumptions circulating about the agreement, asylum seekers are not permitted to enter the Belizean workforce immediately, nor can they pursue permanent settlement right away. Instead, they must enter a protracted processing system managed entirely by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) – a process that can take months, or even multiple years, to reach a final resolution.

    Arnold emphasized that UNHCR plays the central role in coordinating every step of the asylum process in Belize. The agency brings both the dedicated funding and established operational infrastructure needed to receive asylum seekers, complete the required screening and status determinations, and eventually support their full integration into Belizean society if their claims are approved. For any gaps in funding that arise over the course of the process, the agreement already includes a formal contingency: if UNHCR’s allocated resources prove insufficient to cover program costs, the Belizean government can formally request additional financial support directly from the U.S. government, a provision that Arnold confirmed remains available to the host nation at any time.

    Addressing widespread public confusion about work access for new arrivals, Arnold made clear that all transferred individuals first fall under formal asylum seeker status after entering Belize. Even for those fleeing dangerous conditions that prevent them from returning to their home countries, full assimilation into Belizean society – including the right to seek employment – only comes after their status is formally finalized through the UNHCR-managed process. That timeline, Arnold stressed, is inherently variable, with no guaranteed endpoint for many claimants.

    To address concerns that the transfer program would place undue strain on Belize’s social services and public safety, Arnold also outlined the pre-arrival vetting process that all prospective asylum seekers complete before entering the country. All applicants are screened for three core criteria: age, criminal history, and existing health conditions. The vetting step, he explained, is intentionally designed to prevent the program from imposing unmanageable burdens on Belizean communities and institutions.

    This report is adapted from a transcribed evening television newscast originally published in August 2026.

  • Minstens 30 doden bij instorting goudmijn in Centraal-Afrikaanse Republiek

    Minstens 30 doden bij instorting goudmijn in Centraal-Afrikaanse Republiek

    A devastating mine collapse at a small-scale artisanal gold mining site in western Central African Republic (CAR), just kilometers from the country’s border with Cameroon, has left a minimum of 30 miners dead, with rescue operations continuing Wednesday as local authorities warn the final death toll could climb significantly higher.

    The structural failure occurred on Tuesday near the village of Zamboye, a small settlement located a short distance from Garoua-Boulai, a major border city in Cameroon. Souleymane Bi, deputy mayor of Nana-Mambere, the CAR prefecture that administers the area, confirmed that rescuers recovered dozens of bodies in the immediate hours following the collapse, while injured miners have been transferred to local medical facilities for treatment.

    Describing the scene as catastrophic, Bi issued an urgent plea for outside assistance: “This is a terrible tragedy. We are calling on international aid organizations and people of goodwill to step forward and provide support to the affected community.” Local officials currently estimate the death toll could reach as high as 40, though the exact number of people killed remains unconfirmed, as multiple victims are still believed trapped under fallen debris.

    One surviving miner who witnessed the disaster spoke to local media, describing the sudden and catastrophic nature of the collapse: “The entire ground caved in completely, burying dozens of people alive. There are still people trapped under the rubble, and rescue teams are working nonstop to reach them.”

    The CAR national government issued a public statement extending its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased, affirming that it is “working urgently to deliver aid and support to all those affected by this terrible incident.”

    Fatal mine collapses are a persistent, deadly crisis in the Central African Republic, where thousands of workers are employed in unregulated, often informal small-scale mining operations that operate entirely outside of government oversight. These sites lack even basic safety infrastructure and protective measures, creating extremely hazardous working conditions that lead to repeated deadly accidents year after year.

    This latest collapse marks the fourth major fatal mining disaster in CAR in 2024 alone. Back in June, a collapse at the Be-Mbari gold mine, another small-scale site located along the CAR-Cameroon border, killed dozens of workers. In March, a landslide at an artisanal mine near the village of Ngourroum in western CAR killed seven miners, and just one month prior in February, approximately 20 miners lost their lives in a mining accident in Gordi, a remote mining area in the country’s northeastern region.

  • Caribbean Media Freedom Award Goes to Belizean Journalist Jules Vasquez

    Caribbean Media Freedom Award Goes to Belizean Journalist Jules Vasquez

    On Tuesday, the global conversation around independent journalism shifted its focus to the Caribbean, as a landmark new regional award was launched to honor the individuals and institutions that stand guard over the public’s fundamental right to accurate, uncensored information. The inaugural Caribbean Defender of Media Freedom Award was jointly presented by the Center for Media Integrity of the Americas and the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) during the opening ceremony of the CBU’s 57th Annual General Assembly, hosted this year in Georgetown, Guyana.

    Three standout nominees were shortlisted for the first iteration of the award, each representing a distinct, critical front in the ongoing fight for independent journalism across the region: Jules Vasquez, an investigative journalist from Belize; Wesley Gibbings, a veteran journalist and media freedom advocate from Trinidad and Tobago; and the Media Institute of the Caribbean, a regional non-profit supporting journalistic work.

    After deliberation, judges selected Vasquez, news director of 7News Belize, as the first recipient of the honor. Vasquez has built his decades-long career on high-stakes investigations into systemic corruption and demands for public sector accountability, work that has repeatedly pushed for transparency in governance across Belize. In his emotional acceptance speech, Vasquez emphasized that the award was not a solo achievement. “When we stand here solitary, there is a suffering family behind us that you don’t see, a family who misses their father or mother… And then it’s on to the next one, back on the rollercoaster that we are all on. I’m always aware that I don’t stand here alone. Behind me is a committed team of professionals, past and present,” he said.

    The two other nominees, while not selected for the top honor, have each left indelible marks on Caribbean press freedom. Gibbings, a veteran broadcaster and journalist, was recognized for more than 40 years of work building institutional infrastructure for press freedom across the Caribbean. He is the founder of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers, serves as Vice President of the Media Institute of the Caribbean, and holds the distinction of being the Caribbean region’s only representative on the Council of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange. In his role as an Acting Independent Senator in Trinidad and Tobago, Gibbings has led legislative efforts to enshrine legal protections for journalists’ confidential sources, a key safeguard against government overreach.

    The Media Institute of the Caribbean, meanwhile, earned its nomination for more than a decade of regional outreach supporting working journalists. Founded in 2012, the institute has delivered training to more than 800 journalists across over 25 Caribbean and Latin American countries through more than 525 targeted workshops. It has also led a coordinated regional campaign to adopt national Freedom of Information legislation in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and runs critical support programs focused on digital safety for journalists targeted by harassment, as well as mental health resources for reporters working under high pressure.

    Organizers of the award note that the three nominees together highlight a core truth about the fight for media freedom across the Caribbean: this battle cannot be won by a single newsroom, a lone journalist or one isolated organization. Instead, it relies on a collective of dedicated actors who remain committed to holding power to account in the face of mounting challenges, including growing political pressure, widespread financial instability for local news outlets, the rapid spread of disinformation, and the disruptive impact of new digital technologies.

    Following the presentation of the inaugural award, the CBU will host its 37th Media Awards Gala on the evening of August 19, with a live broadcast set to begin at 7:00 pm local time. The event will be streamed globally on News 5 Live’s official Facebook and YouTube channels for audiences unable to attend in person.

  • Magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes southern Peru

    Magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes southern Peru

    A powerful seismic event rattled southern Peru on Thursday, with tremors rippling across multiple regions of the Andean nation, new data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) confirms.

    According to the USGS, the quake struck at approximately 6:00 p.m. GMT, with its epicenter located in Parinacochas Province, part of Peru’s Ayacucho region. The site sits roughly 791 kilometers east of the country’s capital, Lima, and the USGS measured the earthquake’s depth at around 66.6 kilometers, putting it in the range of intermediate-depth seismic activity. The USGS logged the quake at a magnitude of 6.7.

    There is a discrepancy in magnitude measurements between the US agency and Peru’s national geoscience body, however. The Geophysical Institute of Peru has recorded a higher magnitude of 7.2 for the event, and estimates the epicenter was far deeper, at roughly 108 kilometers below the Earth’s surface.

    Despite the significant strength of the earthquake, which was felt across wide swathes of southern Peru, early official assessments have not recorded any deaths, injuries, or major structural damage to infrastructure. Seismologists note that the earthquake’s relatively deep origin likely worked to reduce the intensity of shaking and destructive impact on surface communities, a common dynamic for intermediate-depth seismic events that distribute energy over a wider area before it reaches populated areas.

  • Taiwan pledges grant for SVG’s dev’t bank, boosts funding for social programmes

    Taiwan pledges grant for SVG’s dev’t bank, boosts funding for social programmes

    Following an official working visit to Taipei last week, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Prime Minister Godwin Friday has announced that Taiwan has committed a minimum of $2 million in grant funding to capitalize the newly proposed National Development Bank (NDB), a flagship infrastructure project of the island nation’s ruling New Democratic Party (NDP) administration. In remarks to local media in Kingstown this Tuesday, Friday also confirmed an expanded package of annual support for community-focused social programs targeting marginalized groups across SVG’s constituencies.

    In a press briefing held during his trip to Taiwan, Friday confirmed that the NDB initiative is “very much a go”, noting that preliminary discussions between SVG and Taiwanese officials had been finalized before the delegation’s arrival, leaving Taipei fully briefed on the Caribbean nation’s development plans. Beyond the $2 million seed grant, Taiwan has also offered SVG access to additional concessional financing to support the bank’s launch. The prime minister emphasized that the NDB is designed to resolve a decades-long gap in affordable capital access for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and ordinary Vincentians, who have long been locked out of traditional lending systems.

    While welcoming the grant support, Friday struck a cautious tone regarding the proposed soft-loan financing package, stressing that his administration must carefully balance the benefits of low-cost credit against the risks of expanding SVG’s already strained public debt. “Those [soft loans], of course, I am less excited about,” he told reporters. “But we have to balance the benefit of that with the advantage or the good that it will do in the economy, and to see whether it makes sense to borrow at 3.5% and lend on. These are things that we are studying here with our team, and we’ll decide how we go on.”

    Work on the NDB’s legal and regulatory framework is already underway, with Attorney General Louise Mitchell leading preparatory work and legal expert Jason Haynes tasked with drafting the founding legislation, following a series of nationwide public consultations that included outreach to communities in the Grenadines. Friday clarified that while the NDB will prioritize SME support, it will operate on sound commercial principles rather than acting as a charitable distribution program. “What I’m saying to people, those persons, again, who are anxiously and eagerly awaiting the coming of the bank: it’s a bank; it’s not a charity,” he said. “So, it’s a situation where we are going to manage it on business principles, but it will be much more supportive to small businesses. There will be an environment of encouragement, of support, of mentorship, and so on to help these businesses, small businesses, to succeed.”

    Success of the institution, Friday added, will be measured by its broader impact on inclusive economic growth rather than dividend returns to the government. The NDB’s design has also incorporated governance guidance from the International Monetary Fund, which had previously raised concerns about debt risk and institutional transparency for new state-backed development banks.

    Taiwan’s support for the NDB aligns with the NDP administration’s overarching economic strategy, which centers on private-sector-led growth and attracting foreign direct investment. During Friday’s visit, SVG hosted an investment forum in Taiwan where the delegation pitched the island nation’s untapped investment potential to local business leaders. Taiwanese investors expressed particular interest in SVG’s solar energy, tourism and hospitality development, and marine and shipyard sectors, according to the prime minister.

    Beyond the NDB, the bilateral development partnership between Taiwan and SVG extends to education and skills training, where Friday pushed for a transformative overhaul of SVG’s current technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system, which he described as inadequate to meet the country’s economic needs. SVG currently faces the paradox of high youth unemployment alongside labor shortages that force major construction projects to import skilled foreign workers. Taiwanese officials responded positively to SVG’s proposal, including a plan to deploy young Taiwanese skilled professionals to SVG to provide on-the-ground training. The SVG administration is also exploring short-term technical internship placements for Vincentian youth in Taiwan’s specialized industries such as shipbuilding, to build domestic skills through knowledge transfer.

    Taiwan is also set to expand support for SVG’s agricultural sector, with a focus on scaling up modern technology-driven initiatives to make farming profitable and attractive for young people. Friday highlighted the existing smart agriculture and tissue culture lab project at Orange Hill as a successful model that has gained recognition beyond SVG’s borders. “The project is a model to attract youth into an agriculture that is driven by modern technology and is much more productive, much more profitable,” he said, adding that Taiwan has expressed strong enthusiasm for expanding such initiatives to revive the agricultural sector to the central economic role it held during SVG’s banana production era.

    To advance community-level development, Taiwan has also committed $1.5 million in annual grant funding to support a portfolio of social and community empowerment programs, with a portion earmarked to launch the long-proposed constituency development fund, an initiative first raised by SVG Deputy Prime Minister St. Clair Leacock in earlier talks with Taiwanese officials. Funding will be targeted specifically at advancing economic opportunities for women and youth, and Friday framed the support as a way to create productive opportunity rather than foster dependency. “This is all, you know, very, very good opportunity for us to be able to, as we say, put money into people’s pockets by making them productive. So that if we invest $100, they can make $200 from it. That’s the way you do it,” he said.

    The prime minister concluded that the visit has opened multiple new development pathways for SVG, with some projects expected to deliver results faster than others as the administration works toward its core goal of delivering tangible, inclusive economic benefits to all communities across the country. “My campaign, my strategy, is to deal with people. We don’t just build [things] because they’re big and they look pretty,” he said. “The point is that what we’re trying to do is put money in people’s pockets in very real ways… What you want is people earning, people finding ways in which they can make a decent living as they used to, and providing for themselves and their families. And we are looking for every opportunity to do that.”

  • BDF’s Disaster Relief Readiness Strengthened Through Costa Rica Training

    BDF’s Disaster Relief Readiness Strengthened Through Costa Rica Training

    In a collaborative multinational exercise held earlier this month, seven members of the Belize Defence Force (BDF) Air Wing have successfully graduated from a rigorous Train the Trainer Course focused on humanitarian airdrop operations, hosted in Costa Rica. The initiative, designed to bolster Belize’s domestic disaster response capacity, brought together BDF trainees with two key partner units: the United States Air Force 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron (MSAS), and Costa Rica’s own Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea.

    The hands-on training curriculum covered every critical stage of humanitarian airdrop operations, engaging a cross-functional cohort of pilots, parachute riggers, ground operations controllers, aircraft maintenance technicians, and cargo loadmasters. Trainees worked through full-scale operational simulations that addressed core competencies including parachute packing and safety preparation, aircraft configuration for airdrop missions, secure cargo loading procedures, pre-mission airdrop route and target planning, and coordinated drop zone management.

    A defining milestone of the program saw the recently trained BDF personnel step into instructional roles mid-course, leading hands-on airdrop skills training for Costa Rican participants. This practical exercise not only reinforced the BDF team’s new expertise but also formally established a dedicated cohort of in-house BDF instructors capable of leading future airdrop training for Belize’s own service members. The outcome is a significant expansion of the BDF Air Wing’s operational skill set and long-term training capacity.

    For Belize, a country vulnerable to seasonal tropical storms and natural disasters that often cut off remote communities from critical supplies, this new capability fills a critical gap in emergency response. The trained airdrop team will now be able to deliver life-sustaining resources including food, emergency medical supplies, and other critical aid to isolated communities when ground and surface transport routes become impassable during disasters.

    BDF officials issued a formal statement of gratitude following the course, acknowledging the ongoing support from the 571st MSAS, the United States Embassy in Belize, and Costa Rica’s Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea, which made the capacity-building initiative possible.

  • Zapping Haiti of August 18, 2026

    Zapping Haiti of August 18, 2026

    On August 18, 2026, Haiti continues to grapple with interconnected challenges of criminal violence, infrastructure damage, while also marking milestones in public health, environmental collaboration, and international cultural outreach, alongside mourning the loss of one of its most celebrated artistic figures.

    In the Artibonite department’s Saint-Michel commune, two of Haiti’s most notorious violent gangs, Kokorat San Ras and Gran Grif, launched a brutal attack that has left the community of Marmont Paul reeling. The assault left one resident dead and multiple others injured, and several local homes were set ablaze amid the violence. The attack has triggered a mass displacement, with dozens of residents fleeing their properties to seek safety in neighboring areas.

    Separately, in the capital region, a popular nightlife venue suffered extensive damage earlier this month. Between the night of August 15 and the early hours of August 16, the Iguana Café Nightclub, located along Canapé-Vert road, was completely destroyed by fire. Initial investigations into the blaze trace its origin to improperly extinguished burning garbage dumped near the nightclub’s perimeter. Flames spread quickly to the building, resulting in catastrophic material loss with no reported casualties as of the latest update.

    Amid these setbacks, a landmark achievement in Haitian healthcare was celebrated this week in the Grand’Anse department. During an official visit to Beaumont, a small town in Corail district, Cuban Ambassador Ricardo García Nápoles toured local medical facilities alongside senior leadership from the Cuban Medical Brigade (BMC): BMC head Dr. Guillermo Mora García and Southern Department director Dr. Aliuska La O Llanes. The delegation checked in on two BMC general practitioners, Yailene Bongo Bell and Karelia Kiala Sevila, who currently provide care at the Beaumont community clinic, and also visited Saint-Antoine Hospital in Jérémie, where eight Cuban medical staff are based. The hospital hosts a specialized orthotics and prosthetics workshop run by Cuban physiotherapy graduate Juan Manuel Arenas Griñan. The visit coincided with the graduation of 17 Haitian trainees, who have now earned official technician diplomas after completing full training in orthotics, prosthetics, and orthopedic bandaging, filling a critical gap in local specialized healthcare services.

    On the environmental front, Haitian digital influencer Ariana Milagro Lafond held exploratory talks with leadership of the National Solid Waste Management Service (SNGRS) this week. Lafond was welcomed by SNGRS Director General Daril Baltazar and Deputy Director General Ernseau Létang, with discussions centered on building a collaborative partnership to boost public awareness and action around waste recycling and resource recovery across the country.

    Internationally, Haiti advanced its cultural and tourism outreach this week by joining the first Forum of the Americas on Wine Tourism and Gastronomy hosted in São Paulo, Brazil. The event, organized by ADEGA in partnership with UN Tourism, gave Haiti a platform to showcase its unique culinary and cultural heritage to a global audience. Leading the Haitian delegation was Sinedie Saintil Dupuy, Director General of Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism, who delivered remarks at the forum’s opening ceremony. She was joined by ministry staff member Jean Odelin Casseus, with additional support from Youri Emmanuel, Haiti’s Consul General in São Paulo. Through this participation, Haitian authorities reaffirmed their commitment to expanding the country’s presence in major global tourism events, highlighting the depth of its cultural and gastronomic identity, and opening new pathways for regional and international cooperation in the tourism sector.

    Finally, Haiti’s artistic community is mourning the loss of pioneering sculptor Patrick Vilaire, who passed away recently. In a formal statement, the Poto Mitan Arts and Culture Center — which Vilaire co-founded alongside Wilfrid Austin Casimir and Jean-Claude “Tiga” Garoute — remembered the sculptor as a transformative figure who left an indelible mark on Haitian art history. “A brilliant sculptor, Patrick Vilaire left a unique mark on the history of Haitian art. Several of his works held in our collection attest to the richness and power of his work. But Patrick was also a true transmitter of knowledge,” the center said. Today, Poto Mitan remains one of Haiti’s leading institutions for artistic training and education, a legacy of Vilaire’s decades of work. Vilaire played a key role in building the center’s ceramics workshop, donating a custom kiln to support local emerging artists. “Through his work, his commitment, and his generosity, Patrick Vilaire helped to keep artistic knowledge and practices alive and to transmit them in Haiti,” the statement read. The center extended its deepest condolences to Vilaire’s family, friends, and the entire Haitian artistic community mourning his passing.

  • Cocaine and cannabis bust raises questions over vessel’s history

    Cocaine and cannabis bust raises questions over vessel’s history

    BASSETERRE, St Kitts – A joint law enforcement operation targeting a docking vessel in St. Kitts and Nevis has yielded a significant seizure of cocaine and cannabis, with seven crew members from three different Caribbean nations taken into custody. The operation has reignited public and official scrutiny after investigators uncovered a striking link to a massive 2022 drug bust involving a seemingly connected vessel, raising new questions about regional narcotics trafficking networks and the country’s potential role as a transhipment hub.

    The operation unfolded on August 10, 2026, when the vessel identified as C-Elizabeth II docked in St. Kitts at approximately 9:00 a.m. Acting on intelligence, teams from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF), St. Kitts-Nevis Coast Guard, and the St. Kitts and Nevis Customs and Excise Department – including the department’s K9 Unit and the RSCNPF’s Anti-Narcotics Unit – launched a coordinated search of the vessel.

    During the systematic search, law enforcement officials uncovered two stashes of illegal narcotics: 12.515 pounds of plant matter confirmed to be cannabis, and one full kilogramme of cocaine in the form of a white powder. The captain and all six crew members on board were immediately taken into custody for questioning as part of the ongoing investigation. Police confirmed that the detained individuals hold citizenship from three Caribbean territories: Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

    What has turned a routine seizure into a major regional story is the clear connection to a far larger drug bust that took place in the same waters four years earlier. In 2022, a vessel named MV Elizabeth C, registered in Trinidad and Tobago with International Maritime Organization number 8894574, was intercepted off St. Kitts and Nevis after authorities detected large quantities of hidden narcotics on board. During that 2022 operation, search teams found the illicit drugs concealed within the hollow walls of the vessel’s cabin. The haul included 32 bales of cocaine, each holding 25-kilogramme blocks for a total of approximately 800 kilogrammes, alongside 5.830 kilogrammes (12.852 pounds) of cannabis. At the time, the street value of the 2022 cocaine seizure was estimated at roughly US$26.4 million, with the cannabis valued at approximately US$57,777. All five crew members on board the 2022 vessel, three from Trinidad and Tobago and two from Grenada and Carriacou, were taken into custody for questioning in that investigation.

    With the near-identical naming of the vessel, overlapping nationalities among the detained crews, and two separate major drug seizures in the same jurisdiction within four years, industry observers and law enforcement analysts are now pushing for answers about the vessel’s true ownership, registration history, and pattern of regional movements. As investigators continue to piece together the details of the 2026 bust, the incident has once again opened a broader public discussion about whether the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is being increasingly targeted by drug trafficking organizations as an unofficial transhipment port for narcotics moving through the Caribbean.