Carib Scope

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  • Dominican Republic to receive 30 U.S.-deported migrants per month

    Dominican Republic to receive 30 U.S.-deported migrants per month

    In a formal announcement made this Wednesday, Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez confirmed that the Caribbean nation has entered into a 12-month memorandum of understanding with the United States that will see the country accept roughly 30 deported third-country migrants from U.S. territory each month.

    Under the terms of the agreement, the incoming migrant group will not include Haitian citizens or unaccompanied minor migrants, Álvarez clarified. During their stay in the Dominican Republic, which is projected to last between one and two weeks, local authorities will coordinate logistics for the migrants’ eventual repatriation to their countries of birth or origin.

    Crucially, all costs tied to the transit and repatriation process will be fully covered by the U.S. government, while the International Organization for Migration will provide operational support to Dominican agencies tasked with overseeing the program. At the time of the announcement, Dominican officials had not yet finalized a location to house the incoming deportees, but confirmed that all migrants will be kept under consistent supervision throughout their stay in the country.

    Addressing growing public and political scrutiny of the deal, Álvarez pushed back against claims that the Dominican government was pressured into signing the agreement by U.S. officials. He emphasized that the memorandum is a non-binding arrangement that in no way undermines the Dominican Republic’s national sovereignty.

    The foreign minister also noted that the country is far from alone in adopting this policy framework, pointing to existing similar agreements already in place between Washington and other Latin American nations including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, and Paraguay. Álvarez repeatedly stressed that the arrangement is designed solely as a temporary transit mechanism, and it will not result in permanent resettlement of these migrants in the Dominican Republic, nor does it open any pathways for formal permanent immigration status for the group under Dominican law.

  • Geopolitics Congress in Santo Domingo examines impact of global conflicts on the region

    Geopolitics Congress in Santo Domingo examines impact of global conflicts on the region

    SANTO DOMINGO – Speaking at the closing ceremony of the inaugural 1st International Geopolitics Congress Dominican Republic 2026, former Dominican Republic president Leonel Fernández has delivered a stark analysis of how ongoing global conflicts are rippling through Latin American economies. Fernández highlighted that the twin conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have upended long-stable global supply chains for critical commodities including oil, natural gas, aluminum, and grains, creating a deeply divided economic landscape across the Latin American and Caribbean region.

    According to Fernández, the economic fallout of these disruptions has been anything but uniform across the region. Fuel-exporting economies, including major players such as Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, have seen unexpected gains from elevated commodity prices, while net energy importing nations – the Dominican Republic, Chile, and Peru among them – have been forced to grapple with skyrocketing energy costs, persistent broad-based inflation, and a marked slowdown in economic growth.

    In his address, Fernández also addressed the policy responses from regional monetary authorities, noting that central banks across Latin America have moved aggressively to curb rising prices by hiking interest rates. He stressed that protecting the institutional autonomy of these central banks is non-negotiable for maintaining long-term economic stability, calling on regional leaders to safeguard this independence from political interference.

    Closing his remarks, Fernández laid out a vision for a reimagined 21st-century global order rooted in four core pillars: lasting peace, broad inclusion, global equity, and long-term environmental sustainability. He argued that such a framework is the only way to insulate developing economies from the volatile spillover effects of distant geopolitical conflicts.

    The landmark congress, organized by the Dominican Center for Strategic Thought (CEPED), gathered a diverse cross-section of global stakeholders, including sitting political leaders, leading academic researchers, senior diplomats, and top business representatives. The overarching goal of the gathering was to unpack the shifting dynamics of the global order and unpack what these changes mean for Latin America’s future.

    Other prominent speakers at the event included noted Spanish geopolitical analyst Pedro Baños, who drew a clear connection between a nation’s economic resilience and its standing in global power dynamics. Additional expert contributions came from leading scholars Ana Esther Ceceña, Alfredo Jalife, and Iván Gatón. José Ignacio Paliza, the Dominican Minister of the Presidency, used his address to emphasize that energy security has emerged as a make-or-break factor for national economic competitiveness in the new geopolitical landscape.

  • Blackouts and protests as Cuba says fuel has ‘run out’

    Blackouts and protests as Cuba says fuel has ‘run out’

    HAVANA, CUBA – The Caribbean island of Cuba entered a new phase of acute crisis on Thursday, as worsening nationwide power outages, fueled by depleted Russian oil reserves, sparked rare scattered demonstrations across the capital Havana. The unfolding energy emergency has deepened long-standing economic strain on the country, with blame and competing diplomatic proposals emerging from both the Cuban government and the United States.

    The most recent round of blackouts first engulfed eastern regions of the island on Thursday, extending rolling electricity cuts that have already disrupted daily life across every part of Cuba. In residential neighborhoods surrounding western Havana, local residents gathered to voice their anger over persistent blackouts in small, decentralized protests. Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy confirmed in an interview with state television that all fuel shipments supplied by Moscow have been exhausted, labeling the current operational environment as “very tense.”

    Levy added that rising seasonal temperatures, combined with the decades-long U.S. trade embargo, have amplified the crisis, as the country continues to face critical gaps in consistent fuel deliveries. Amid the unfolding emergency, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reissued a pre-existing offer of $100 million in humanitarian aid, but attached a strict condition: the assistance must be distributed exclusively through the Catholic Church, entirely bypassing Cuba’s communist government.

    Cuba’s top diplomatic official, Bruno Rodriguez, responded publicly via social media, stating that the Cuban government is open to reviewing the full details of the proposal and its planned implementation mechanisms. Local reporting from AFP gathered accounts of grassroots demonstrations across the capital: in the outer Havana neighborhood of San Miguel del Padron, residents banged pots and pans in a widespread collective protest of extended outages Wednesday evening. Small, similar actions popped up in multiple other residential districts, with demonstrators in the western Playa neighborhood chanting “Turn on the lights!” to demand government action.

    On Wednesday, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel placed full responsibility for the energy crisis on the United States, describing the U.S. embargo on fuel supplies as a “genocidal energy blockade.” Aggregated data from AFP confirms that the island has seen record levels of generation shortfalls and prolonged blackouts in recent days. On Tuesday alone, 65 percent of Cuban territory was affected by simultaneous power outages.

    Diaz-Canel emphasized that the rapid deterioration of the energy situation has one clear root cause: U.S. sanctions that threaten punitive tariffs on any third country that agrees to ship fuel to Cuba. The current crisis escalated in January, when the U.S. formally expanded its blockade to target all oil shipments to the island, which is home to 9.6 million people. Since that policy change, only a single Russian oil tanker has successfully delivered fuel to Cuba, a country already grappling with decades of economic stagnation and widespread supply shortages.

    In the capital Havana, many residents now face more than 19 hours of power cuts every single day, while multiple provincial regions experience full-day blackouts with no consistent restoration. Cuba’s entire electricity generation system relies on a network of eight thermoelectric plants, most of which are over 40 years old. The aging infrastructure suffers from constant mechanical breakdowns and requires frequent, prolonged shutdowns for routine maintenance, further straining the country’s ability to meet even basic energy demand.

    Since the start of 2024, Cuba has experienced seven full nationwide blackouts, while domestic fuel prices have skyrocketed to record levels. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has overseen the removal of Venezuela’s leftist government so far this year but has faced limited progress in his administration’s conflict with Iran, has publicly suggested that Cuba could be the next target for U.S. intervention, even floating the possibility of the U.S. taking control of the island.

  • US Asking Antigua and Barbuda to Accept More Refugees and Deportees

    US Asking Antigua and Barbuda to Accept More Refugees and Deportees

    As diplomatic talks between Washington and the small Caribbean twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda continue, the country’s top envoy to the United States has issued a clear, firm statement: Antigua and Barbuda cannot yield to growing pressure from the U.S. to accept a higher number of third-country migrants than its initial, limited offer.

    Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the U.S., explained that the nation’s original commitment to take in a capped number of migrants was always intended as a goodwill gesture to support its ally. The country has every intention of honoring that promise to help ease the migration burden currently facing the United States, but it will not go beyond the agreed-upon limit, he stressed.

    The core barrier to expanding the acceptance quota lies in the nation’s inherent social and economic constraints. Sir Ronald outlined that most of the third-country nationals in question have no pre-existing established ties to Antigua and Barbuda, creating a host of unresolvable challenges for the small island state. Key concerns include widespread language barriers: many of the prospective migrants do not speak English, the primary working language of Antigua and Barbuda, which would complicate integration. Additionally, most do not hold professional qualifications or skills that are recognized by local industries and labor markets, leaving few pathways for them to contribute to the national economy or achieve self-sufficiency.

    Beyond employment and integration hurdles, Sir Ronald raised urgent questions about basic social infrastructure. A small island nation with limited public services and housing stock, Antigua and Barbuda simply does not have the capacity to house, care for, and support a sudden influx of large numbers of new arrivals. Taking more migrants than the country can handle would also put unsustainable strain on already limited public resources, from healthcare and education to public transportation and water access, eroding the quality of services that Antigua and Barbuda’s own citizens rely on.

    The envoy also warned that a large, sudden influx of migrants would reshape the nation’s demographic makeup in a way that would likely face broad opposition from the country’s local population. “The Prime Minister’s offered a certain number that he would be prepared to absorb,” Sanders said, emphasizing that the Antiguan and Barbudan government cannot make policy choices that threaten the welfare of its own people. “We can not make decisions that would put strain on our resources to the point where our own people would say, ‘No, no, no, we’re not doing that.’” While negotiations between the two countries remain ongoing, the nation’s position on staying within its capacity remains unchanged.

  • UN pushes regional crime action plan

    UN pushes regional crime action plan

    Across multiple Caribbean island states, surging violent crime has emerged as a pressing cross-border systemic threat, and a joint United Nations and regional bloc initiative is now moving forward to address the crisis, a senior United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official has confirmed.

    Speaking at this week’s official launch of the UN Eastern Caribbean 2025 Annual Results Report in Bridgetown, Barbados, Stephanie Ziebell, Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, outlined that regional heads of government will gather later this month in St. Kitts, hosted by Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew, for a high-level UN-CARICOM dialogue to finalize next steps and set core priorities for the new anti-crime framework.

    This collaborative effort builds on high-level strategic talks held earlier in 2025, and marks the first evidence-based, region-wide assessment of transnational crime and violence in the Caribbean, framing the issue as a shared systemic challenge rather than an isolated national problem. Currently, two core products are in development: a joint diagnostic report that maps the scope of the crisis, and a formal CARICOM-UN Action Plan to guide coordinated response.

    Ziebell explained that the diagnostic phase is focused on unpacking the deep-rooted drivers of crime, identifying structural weaknesses in regional and national security and justice systems, and pinpointing the most urgent reforms needed to reverse upward violence trends. The subsequent action plan will translate these findings into a unified regional framework, outlining clear practical priorities, shared accountability standards, and defined roles for CARICOM institutions, individual member states, and UN implementing partners.

    The broader UN strategy for advancing peace, public safety and access to justice across the Eastern Caribbean centers on two foundational pillars: strengthening institutional capacity and building more resilient, safer communities. Ziebell emphasized that all work is rooted in data-driven analysis, cross-stakeholder partnership, and a deliberate commitment to conflict-sensitive and gender-responsive policy design. “Justice and safety must be accessible for everyone, especially women and girls, persons with disabilities, and people at the margins, so that no one is left behind,” she said.

    Beyond addressing violent crime broadly, the UN has already been active in supporting regional efforts to counter gender-based violence, shore up human rights protections, and improve cross-border law enforcement coordination. Ziebell outlined that the UN has helped national governments strengthen prevention and response frameworks for gender-based violence, reinforce national human rights institutions, advance regional agreements targeting domestic abuse and transnational organized crime, upgrade border management protocols, build forensic science capacity, and deepen cooperative work between national law enforcement agencies.

    She also highlighted the Canada-funded PACE Justice Programme, a multi-country initiative currently being rolled out across eight Caribbean nations including Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts and Nevis. The program is focused on modernizing outdated criminal justice systems and cutting crippling case backlogs that erode public confidence. To date, support provided through PACE Justice has included new court equipment, technical assistance for digital case management systems, specialized training for crime scene investigators, capacity-building workshops for justice sector personnel, tools to expand restorative justice practices, coordination support for national attorneys general, work to harmonize standard operating procedures across jurisdictions, planning for AI integration in justice systems, and facilitated dialogues focused on reducing case backlogs.

    These targeted reforms are designed to improve the quality of criminal investigations, uphold consistent due process standards, and rebuild public trust in national justice systems. Ziebell added that robust, functional institutions are a critical buffer for Caribbean societies, which face overlapping threats from climate disasters, economic volatility, and growing insecurity. “These systems help societies withstand shocks, whether those shocks come from disasters, economic stress, or rising forms of violence and insecurity,” she noted.

    Closing her remarks at the report launch, Ziebell reaffirmed the UNDP and United Nations’ long-term commitment to partnering with Caribbean national governments, civil society organizations, and global development partners to expand evidence-based crime prevention and expand equitable access to justice for all people across the region.

  • Loss-and-damage fund may come to fishing industry’s aid

    Loss-and-damage fund may come to fishing industry’s aid

    As the Caribbean fishing sector slowly rebuilds from the catastrophic damage wrought by Hurricane Beryl two years ago, a landmark United Nations climate fund is preparing to deliver targeted new grant funding to support recovery efforts across the region.

    The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), created under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, was designed specifically to support climate-vulnerable nations grappling with the irreversible impacts of climate-driven extreme weather. Now, the fund’s executive director Ibrahima Cheikh Diong is on the ground in Barbados, the small island nation that led global advocacy to establish the financing mechanism, to collect government funding requests ahead of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, which kicks off next month.

    Barbados has emerged as a global leader in pushing for equitable climate finance, with Prime Minister Mia Mottley becoming one of the most prominent voices in international climate negotiations and a key architect of the fund’s operational framework, the Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM). On Tuesday, Diong held talks with Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw to outline the fund’s planned support, a day before he revisited the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex – the facility that bore the worst of Hurricane Beryl’s damage, losing dozens of fishing vessels and sustaining major structural harm.

    Earlier this year, the FRLD rolled out a $250 million early intervention grant package under the BIM framework, a milestone for developing nations that bear the brunt of climate change despite contributing the least to global emissions. For Diong, the return trip to Barbados carries deep personal and symbolic meaning: he was on the island in the thick of Hurricane Beryl in 2024, and witnessed firsthand the storm’s destruction and the Barbadian people’s resilience during the initial rebuilding phase.

    “I was in Barbados in the middle of Hurricane Beryl. I had a chance to go on the ground and see the damage caused by the hurricane, the resilience of the people of Barbados and the work the government has been doing in rebuilding. So, coming back here, I would like to go back and visit on the ground and see what has happened since the last time I was here,” Diong said.

    He added that the visit is also an opportunity to update the Barbadian government on the fund’s progress, acknowledging that Mottley has been the mechanism’s most vocal global champion. “It was here in Barbados a year ago that we launched the Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM). It is very symbolic to come back and brief the government on progress we have made so far. The whole purpose of the meeting is really to update [Deputy Prime Minister Bradshaw] on the progress we made; and looking ahead, where do we stand on the fund, and hopefully get some support from the government in continuing to advocate for this fund.”

    To date, the FRLD has secured $820 million in converted pledges from donor nations around the world, with $440 million already transferred and ready for disbursement. A year ago, the fund’s board approved the $250 million early intervention program, which provides 100% grant funding rather than loans to avoid adding to indebted developing nations’ debt burdens – a response to repeated calls from vulnerable countries that cannot afford to take on new borrowing to recover from climate disasters.

    Per the BIM agreement reached in Barbados, at least 50% of all early intervention funding is earmarked for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – a group that includes Barbados. Initial allocations to eligible countries will range from $5 million to $20 million, with individual nations setting their own funding priorities based on their specific recovery and resilience needs.

    Diong is currently facilitating a two-day workshop for CARICOM member states to help governments prepare their funding requests, and reminded regional representatives that June 15 is the firm deadline for submission, with no extensions planned unless the FRLD board votes to approve one. After requests are submitted, the FRLD board will meet in late July to finalize allocations before forwarding recommendations to the fund’s trustee, the World Bank, for disbursement.

    “It’s up to the countries, based on their needs, how much they would like to come to FRLD for funding, or other funds as well; ultimately, knowing that when you put that US$5m to US$20m it will be enough to meet their demands. So, we are looking at the gaps we are filling in, and making sure that what we provide can be put to use very quickly, so we can respond,” Diong explained.

    Hurricane Beryl made history as the earliest-forming Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, hitting Barbados as a Category 3 storm in 2024 when it passed roughly 150 kilometers south of the island. While the storm only caused moderate damage to general public infrastructure and did not spark a full-scale humanitarian crisis, it completely destroyed most of Barbados’ fishing fleet, which is only now slowly recovering. Total economic losses from the storm reached $193 million, equal to 0.15% of Barbados’ total GDP. 58% of that total came from physical damage, 36% from ongoing economic losses, and 5% from unplanned recovery costs. Four key sectors – tourism, fisheries, agriculture, and environmental infrastructure – accounted for 84% of all storm-related impacts. Beryl’s unprecedented early formation and disproportionate impact on Barbados underscores the growing volatility of global climate patterns, which continues to amplify the climate vulnerability of Caribbean SIDS that face existential risk from rising seas and intensifying extreme weather.

  • Venezuela’s acting president defends country’s territory and rejects Trump’s 51st state remarks

    Venezuela’s acting president defends country’s territory and rejects Trump’s 51st state remarks

    On Monday, as Venezuela wrapped up its arguments before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in a long-running territorial dispute with neighboring Guyana, acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez pushed back firmly on an unexpected remark from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he was “seriously considering” the idea of Venezuela becoming the 51st U.S. state.

    Speaking to reporters on the final day of public hearings over the resource-rich Essequibo region, Rodríguez made clear that Venezuela has no intention of giving up its sovereignty to become part of the United States. The acting president, who assumed office in January after a U.S. military operation removed former President Nicolás Maduro from power, emphasized that Venezuela will stand firm in protecting its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, independent history, and self-determination. “We are not a colony, we are a free and sovereign nation,” she stated.

    To date, the full context and motivation behind Trump’s remark remain unconfirmed. The White House did not issue an immediate response to requests for clarification on the comment, which is not an isolated statement: Trump has previously made similar offhand remarks about annexing Canada. Later, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly declined to elaborate on any potential Trump administration plans for Venezuela during an interview with Fox News, noting only that the U.S. president is well-known for challenging established norms and praised Rodríguez for what she described as extremely productive cooperation with the United States. Rodríguez for her part added that Venezuelan and U.S. officials have maintained open lines of communication, focused on building mutual cooperation and understanding.

    The core focus of Rodríguez’s visit to The Hague was defending Venezuela’s decades-old claim to the Essequibo region, a 62,000-square-mile territory that makes up nearly two-thirds of Guyana’s current national land area. Long a source of tension between the two South American nations, the dispute has gained new urgency in recent years amid major offshore oil discoveries that have turned Guyana from one of South America’s smallest and poorest economies into a fast-growing major energy producer. The region itself is already rich in gold, diamonds, and valuable timber, while nearby offshore blocks currently produce roughly 900,000 barrels of oil per day – a volume nearly matching Venezuela’s current daily production of around 1 million barrels.

    Venezuela has laid claim to Essequibo since the Spanish colonial era, when the jungle territory fell within the boundaries of Spanish colonial holdings that would later become independent Venezuela. However, an 1899 arbitration ruling mediated by representatives from Britain, Russia, and the United States set the international border along the Essequibo River, awarding nearly the entire disputed territory to Guyana (then a British colony). Venezuela has long rejected that 1899 decision, arguing that a 1966 Geneva agreement signed to resolve the dispute effectively invalidated the 19th-century arbitration ruling and called for negotiated settlement between the two parties.

    The dispute escalated after 2015, when energy giant ExxonMobil announced a major commercial oil discovery off the Essequibo coast. In 2018, Guyana formally brought the case to the ICJ, the United Nations’ highest court for inter-state disputes, asking judges to uphold the 1899 border ruling. Tensions flared further in 2023, when then-President Maduro organized a national referendum on converting Essequibo into a Venezuelan state and threatened to annex the region by force. Maduro was removed from power and captured by U.S. forces during a January operation in Caracas, and is currently being held in New York to face trial on drug trafficking charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

    Rodríguez did not reference the 2023 referendum in her ICJ remarks, but told judges that only bilateral political negotiations, not a binding judicial ruling, can resolve the century-old border dispute. She accused Guyana of acting opportunistically by bringing the case to the court while the negotiation mechanisms outlined in the 1966 Geneva agreement were still fully operational. “At a time when the mechanisms established in the Geneva agreement were still fully in force, Guyana unilaterally chose to shift the dispute from the negotiating arena to a judicial resolution,” she told the court. “This change was not accidental; it coincided with the discovery in 2015 of the oil field that would become world-renowned.”

    When the hearings opened last week, Guyana’s Foreign Minister Hugh Hilton Todd framed the dispute as a long-standing threat to Guyana’s sovereign existence, telling the panel of international judges that the conflict “has been a blight on our existence as a sovereign state from the very beginning,” noting that 70% of Guyana’s current territory is at stake in the ruling.

    Court observers expect the ICJ will take several months to issue a final, legally binding ruling on the case. Venezuela has repeatedly stressed that its decision to participate in the public hearings does not constitute consent to the court’s jurisdiction over the dispute, nor recognition of the court’s authority to issue a binding ruling on the border question.

  • CARICOM weighs migration overhaul

    CARICOM weighs migration overhaul

    Against a backdrop of contracting populations and widening gaps in available labor, Caribbean nations are positioning an overhaul of migration frameworks as a core strategy to safeguard long-term economic stability, a top United Nations migration official for the region confirmed this Tuesday. Patrice Quesada, regional coordinator for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the Caribbean, explained that member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are actively developing a unified regional migration policy focused on three interconnected challenges: improving labor mobility across borders, reversing the damage of demographic decline, and supporting communities displaced by climate change impacts.

    The policy review comes as the UN prepared to launch its 2025 report on socio-economic and demographic trends across the Eastern Caribbean. Quesada emphasized that shrinking and aging populations are a shared crisis across every Caribbean nation, with resulting labor shortages placing unmanageable strain on sectors critical to regional GDP. “Most countries across the region are seeing deep stress in key economic sectors, from construction and public health to the tourism industry that forms the backbone of many local economies,” he noted in an interview.

    Beyond addressing immediate labor gaps, Quesada explained that the updated policy will be tailored to align with the unique development priorities of individual member states. What began as a narrow policy discussion has evolved into a foundational development strategy, with migration framed as a tool to strengthen key sectors and advance shared goals. For example, targeted migration schemes can bring skilled workers into the agricultural sector to boost production and shore up regional food security, he added.

    The UN’s role in this process is to provide technical support and coordination to member states as they advance the policy framework, Quesada said, noting that both migration shifts and demographic decline are now widely recognized as defining mega-trends shaping the future of the Caribbean. “Migration is now fully integrated into regional cooperation frameworks, acknowledged alongside demographic decline as one of the most impactful trends reshaping the region,” he stated.

    As a model for other nations to follow, Quesada highlighted Saint Lucia’s upcoming launch of a national migration policy. The Saint Lucia process was developed through a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach that centers the country’s specific needs, serving as a pilot that other Caribbean nations can adapt to their own contexts. This flexible model is particularly important because while the region shares broad demographic and climate challenges, each nation faces unique local circumstances that require customized solutions.

    Even as the regional framework takes shape, Quesada noted that member states are still engaged in active consultation to resolve key open questions about implementation. Policymakers are grappling with core issues: how to integrate incoming migrant workers into local communities successfully, how to design systems that deliver mutual benefits for both migrants and host nations, and how to replace irregular migration channels with formal, regulated pathways that bring tax contributions to public coffers while protecting migrants from exploitation.

    Climate change is also woven into the design of the new regional policy, as the second most impactful mega-trend driving migration across the Caribbean. While slow-onset sea level rise remains a long-term threat, Quesada explained that the most immediate climate-related displacement stems from frequent extreme weather events, including powerful hurricanes and prolonged droughts that are growing more common with rising global temperatures.

    “More acutely than slow sea level rise, the Caribbean faces repeated displacement tied to extreme weather: we have seen it with hurricanes for decades, and now we are watching drought conditions become more severe and widespread across the region, with impacts that will only grow in coming storm seasons,” Quesada said. He pointed to two high-profile examples of climate-driven outward migration: the large-scale outflow of residents from Dominica after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017, and the ongoing struggle of Barbuda to repopulate and fully recover after a string of catastrophic hurricanes destroyed much of its infrastructure.

    Addressing climate migration requires more than just short-term humanitarian disaster response, Quesada stressed. The UN already works closely with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to maintain cross-border protocols for temporary evacuation during major hurricanes, allowing people to move safely between islands during crises. But long-term strategy is equally critical: policymakers need to invest in recovery and resilience that gives local residents the choice to stay in their home communities rather than being forced to migrate permanently.

    Quesada concluded by calling for expanded long-term regional dialogue focused on climate resilience, sustainable urban development, and upgrading vulnerable infrastructure. The impact of climate change on coastal zones and urban centers, where most critical public and private infrastructure is located, creates hidden mobility pressures that have not yet been fully addressed. This climate-driven shift in population mobility requires targeted, proactive planning that integrates climate action into migration policy from the start, he said.

  • UN agencies, govt in smart farming boost

    UN agencies, govt in smart farming boost

    Against a backdrop of growing climate uncertainty and persistent water stress across small island developing states, Barbados’ Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has launched an expanded partnership with two leading United Nations agencies to scale digital and climate-smart innovations across the country’s agricultural and fisheries sectors. The multi-year collaboration, which brings together the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), was formally highlighted during the launch of the UN Barbados and Eastern Caribbean office’s annual results report on Tuesday, with a core mission to revolutionize water management, shore up national food security, and build long-term adaptive capacity for local farmers and small-scale fisherfolk.

    At the heart of the FAO’s contributions to the partnership are on-the-ground projects designed to address Barbados’ unique geographic and climatic challenges. As Roberto Telleria, the FAO’s subregional representative for the Caribbean, explained, the island nation receives more than 1,000 millimeters of annual rainfall, but erratic, uneven precipitation patterns have left it chronically water stressed — a gap that targeted technology can solve. To date, the initiative has already deployed soil nutrient and humidity sensors across test plots, while providing hands-on training for local farmers to use the data generated by these tools. “The rationale behind this is to try to dosify the amount of water that is applied because we live in an island that is water stressed, its not water scarcity, its water stressed,” Telleria noted. Unlike conventional irrigation practices that often overuse limited water reserves, the new smart systems calculate the exact volume of water crops require at each growth stage, cutting waste while maintaining yields.

    In addition to precision irrigation, the partnership is rolling out protected agriculture systems that create controlled growing environments to stabilize production. By enabling farmers to regulate temperature and manage pest and disease outbreaks more effectively, these systems deliver far more predictable output, reducing the risk of crop failure that threatens both smallholder livelihoods and national food supplies. The collaboration also extends to improving circular economy practices across the entire food system, a project that has been underway for several years. One key initiative focuses on recycling fish processing waste, converting it into value-added inputs for other sectors — from chicken feed to organic agricultural fertilizer — cutting waste while boosting resource efficiency.

    To target support to the communities that need it most, the partnership conducts regular national surveys to map pockets of food insecurity, allowing stakeholders to roll out preventive measures that protect vulnerable populations from the impacts of crises, hurricanes and other climate-related shocks. Teams are also monitoring the cost of nutritious food across all Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) member countries, generating data to inform more effective policy planning and improve access to affordable healthy food for low-income households. Complementing these on-farm efforts are targeted programs to link local agricultural production to youth development and school feeding initiatives. By sourcing ingredients for school meal programs from domestic producers, the partnership drives territorial economic development while supporting nutrition for the next generation of farmers.

    From the ITU side, the organization is bringing digital connectivity innovations to the fisheries sector through its Smart Sea Project, which addresses a longstanding safety gap for small-scale Barbadian fishers. As ITU area officer Cleveland Thomas explained, many small-scale fishing operations travel beyond the reach of standard commercial mobile networks like Digicel, leaving them cut off from communication in case of emergency. The Smart Sea Project ensures fishers stay connected even in remote offshore areas, adding a critical life-saving safety component for workers who go missing at sea. The ITU is also supporting broader digital inclusion across the region through initiatives like the GIGA project, which aims to connect every school to the internet and build digital literacy among young people.

    Telleria emphasized that the overarching goal of the entire partnership is to strengthen food security at both commercial and household levels, by making agricultural production more resilient through innovation and data-driven planning. “That’s usually obtained through the implementation of agricultural technology innovations at farm level that allow farmers to produce more food, to produce in a more stable way, and therefore to make sure that more elements and foods are available in cities and in the countryside too,” he said. Beyond ground-based sensors, the initiative also leverages drone technology to map large agricultural areas and assess damage after natural disasters. This allows teams to rapidly identify regions already hit by food insecurity or at high risk of disruption following hurricanes, enabling faster, more targeted response efforts to protect vulnerable communities across the Caribbean region.

  • U.S. Embassy Issues Security Alert Following SOE in Belize

    U.S. Embassy Issues Security Alert Following SOE in Belize

    In response to a sharp uptick in violent criminal activity across key areas of Belize, the U.S. Embassy in Belize has issued an official security alert for all U.S. citizens residing in or traveling through the Central American nation. The alert comes days after Belizean authorities declared a 30-day State of Emergency (SOE) on May 8, covering high-crime zones that include both the Northside and Southside of Belize City, plus multiple communities across the broader Belize District: Ladyville, Burrell Boom, Fresh Pond, Buttercup Estates, Bermudian Landing, Lemonal, Isabella Bank, Rancho Dolores, and Double Head Cabbage.

    By the first weekend after the SOE declaration, residents across affected areas awoke to a transformed security landscape, marked by heightened patrols from both the Belize Police Department and the Belize Defence Force (BDF), mandatory checkpoints at major transit points, strict curfews, and a suite of enhanced public safety measures. Local officials confirmed the drastic action was triggered by weeks of steadily escalating violence, most of which has been linked to ongoing gang-related retaliatory attacks.

    The wave of bloodshed that pushed authorities to implement the SOE began on May 5, when two high-profile local figures, Hubert Baptist and Eric Frazer, were ambushed in a targeted shooting along the Philip Goldson Highway. Remarkably, both men survived the attack. Just days later, 29-year-old Jamal Samuels was gunned down in a killing investigators have classified as a direct retaliatory murder. In an incident that sent further shockwaves through local communities, police report a 16-year-old gunman entered a local bar and fatally shot a 34-year-old mother of three. These high-profile attacks are just four of the multiple shootings and homicides that have destabilized Belize District communities in recent weeks.

    Under Statutory Instrument 50 of 2026, the legal framework backing the SOE, Belizean law enforcement and security officials have been granted significantly expanded authority to crack down on crime and reestablish public order. The emergency regulations prohibit a range of activities within the designated SOE zones, including loitering, public alcohol consumption, and any gathering of three or more people. Minors in the affected areas are also required to stay indoors between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time.

    Notably, both police and BDF personnel are now authorized to conduct warrantless searches of private residences, vehicles, watercraft, and individual persons if they have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or a threat to public safety. Officers can also detain individuals for questioning, seize items classified as dangerous, and make warrantless arrests if they suspect a person has committed, plans to commit, or may facilitate criminal activity. The regulations also allow authorities to hold detained individuals for up to 30 days during the SOE, and permit the closure of any business or location deemed a threat to public safety.

    The SOE framework also grants broad new powers to Belize’s Minister of Home Affairs, including the authority to order individuals placed under home confinement, restrict personal movement and social association, and require mandatory regular check-ins with local police.

    In its published security advisory, the U.S. Embassy urged all U.S. citizens in Belize to fully comply with directives from local law enforcement, closely monitor official updates from the Government of Belize, and maintain a high level of situational awareness at all times. The embassy also encouraged both U.S. residents and travelers in the country to review the most recent official Belize Travel Advisory and enroll in the U.S. Department of State’s Smart Traveller Enrolment Program (STEP), a free service that provides automatic emergency alerts and updates to U.S. citizens abroad.

    As of current official updates, the State of Emergency is scheduled to remain active for a maximum of 30 days. However, senior Belizean officials have not ruled out extending the emergency order or implementing additional strict security measures if violent crime does not subside across the affected zones during the initial 30-day period.