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标签： Grenada

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  • Canada Fund for Local Initiatives contributes CAD$139,900

    Canada Fund for Local Initiatives contributes CAD$139,900

    Canada’s High Commission for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean has announced a total investment of CAD $139,900 through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) to support two impact-driven community projects led by local organizations in Grenada. The funding will advance two key priorities for the tri-island nation: cutting-edge community-centered crime prevention and the creation of sustainable, climate-focused livelihoods for marginalized groups.

    The largest allocation, CAD $90,000, has been awarded to the Grenada Community Development Agency, Inc. (GRENCODA) to roll out its *Building Safer Communities — Community-Based Crime Prevention* initiative across Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique. Unlike traditional top-down law enforcement approaches, this project centers local collaboration, bringing together the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF), the Legal Aid and Counselling Clinic (LACC), local business owners, and grassroots community groups to address crime at its root. The initiative will deliver targeted support to at-risk young people, expand community policing and neighborhood safety programs, and build local capacity to both prevent criminal activity and respond effectively when it occurs.

    Notably, the project will adapt and scale evidence-based community policing tools and resources tested and refined in Canada, while fostering stronger, more trusting relationships between local communities and law enforcement. By centering proactive prevention and widespread community engagement, the project sets out to reduce populations’ vulnerability to crime, boost public confidence in security institutions, and build more connected, resilient communities across all three of Grenada’s islands.

    The second grant, totaling CAD $49,900, will go to the Belmont Foundation for its *Island Futures Lab: Building Green Livelihoods for Youth and Women* project. This initiative targets high rates of unemployment among vulnerable women and young people in Grenada, equipping 30 participants with a comprehensive skill set focused on climate-resilient agriculture and green entrepreneurship. Trainees will gain hands-on expertise in climate-smart farming practices, food safety protocols, agro-processing, digital literacy, and small business development, alongside specialized training in business management and financial literacy. The project also provides ongoing support to help participants develop, brand, and market value-added agricultural products, turning new skills into stable, long-term income streams. Beyond supporting individual livelihoods, the initiative advances broader national goals of climate adaptation and inclusive rural economic growth.

    Established to support small-scale, locally led projects that respond directly to on-the-ground community needs while advancing Canada’s global foreign policy priorities, the CFLI is a core part of Canada’s development cooperation in the Eastern Caribbean. For the 2026–2027 funding cycle, the High Commission of Canada in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean has prioritized initiatives that advance three key regional goals: lasting peace and security, inclusive economic growth that benefits all community members, and improved climate resilience across small island developing states.

    Commenting on the new investments, Her Excellency Brenda Wills, High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, emphasized the alignment of the projects with Canada’s long-term commitment to the region. “Canada is proud to partner with Grenadian organisations that are creating safer communities and expanding opportunities for those who need it most,” Wills said. “By investing in community-led crime prevention, entrepreneurship, and climate-resilient livelihoods, these projects support Canada’s commitment to peace and security, growth that works for everyone, and stronger, more resilient communities across Grenada.”

    This announcement forms part of Canada’s ongoing engagement with small island states in the Eastern Caribbean, through targeted grant programming that centers local leadership on pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges.

  • Kamal Shaileshbhai Shah Honorary Consul of Grenada to Republic of Kenya

    Kamal Shaileshbhai Shah Honorary Consul of Grenada to Republic of Kenya

    In a landmark step to deepen diplomatic and economic ties between the Caribbean and Africa, the Government of Grenada has formally named Kamal Shaileshbhai Shah as its new Honorary Consul to the Republic of Kenya. The ceremonial presentation of credentials took place on July 16, 2026, when Shah officially submitted his documentation to Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, His Excellency Dr Musalia Mudavadi, EGH.

    This diplomatic milestone does not emerge out of nowhere: it is the direct outcome of high-level talks held between Kenyan President His Excellency Dr William Samoei Ruto, PhD, CGH, and Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell during the Africa-Caricom Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, back in September 2025. At that summit, both leaders highlighted the urgent need for African and Caribbean nations to expand collaboration across multiple domains, from political dialogue and cross-border trade to investment flows and cultural exchange. Friday’s credential presentation marks the fulfillment of that earlier mutual commitment.

    As Grenada’s newly installed Honorary Consul in Kenya, Shah will take on a central role in advancing bilateral cooperation across six key strategic sectors that align with both nations’ long-term development priorities. These priority areas include expanding bilateral trade and attracting mutual investment, fostering innovation in financial technology and digital transformation, advancing joint climate action and environmental sustainability initiatives, growing two-way tourism and cultural exchange, deepening energy cooperation with a specific focus on geothermal energy development, and strengthening collaboration on agriculture and global food security.

    Officials from both countries frame the establishment of this honorary consulate as a transformative development that will unlock new partnership opportunities for both public and private sector stakeholders in Grenada and Kenya, while strengthening broader connections between the African and Caribbean regions. The two island nations share core developmental aspirations: inclusive sustainable development, inclusive economic transformation, and more impactful cooperation on the global stage. Shah’s appointment is a tangible reflection of the shared commitment from both governments to build long-lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships that deliver real, measurable improvements to the lives of their citizens.

    Looking ahead, the Government of Grenada has expressed its eagerness to collaborate closely with the Government of Kenya and all relevant public and private stakeholders to continue expanding this strategic relationship, unlock new avenues for joint collaboration, drive inclusive economic growth, and deliver shared prosperity for the people of both nations. This announcement was originally released by Grenada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  • Comparing Grenada’s political leaders in a changing political landscape

    Comparing Grenada’s political leaders in a changing political landscape

    As Grenada prepares to head to the polls for its upcoming general election, the electorate is weighing far more than party manifestos and traditional partisan loyalties. At the heart of this electoral contest is a fundamental debate over the future of leadership in the Caribbean island nation, with three top contenders bringing vastly different backgrounds, governing styles and policy blueprints to the race. Unlike most recent elections, which have been dominated by a two-party duopoly, the 202X contest introduces a wild card that could upend decades of political precedent and pave the way for a new style of collaborative governance. The three main contenders are incumbent Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Emmalin Pierre, leader of the New National Party (NNP), and Peter David, founder of the newly formed Democratic Progressive Movement (DPM). For the first time in recent memory, the election could result in a hung parliament, where no single party secures an outright parliamentary majority, opening the door to coalition governance or minority government arrangements that are constitutionally permitted but unprecedented in modern Grenadian politics. Beyond deciding who will occupy the office of Prime Minister, this election will test whether Grenada’s political culture is ready to embrace a more consensus-driven model of rule.

  • Liberty Caribbean: Headline Sponsor of CANTO’s 41st Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition

    Liberty Caribbean: Headline Sponsor of CANTO’s 41st Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition

    For the fifth consecutive year, leading regional communications and technology provider Liberty Caribbean has pledged its continued support as headline sponsor of the 41st CANTO (Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organizations) Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition, cementing its long-standing commitment to driving digital progress across the Caribbean.

    Scheduled to run from August 9 to 12, 2026, the landmark industry gathering will be hosted at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, bringing together a diverse cross-section of key stakeholders to advance the region’s digital ambitions. Aligned with the 2026 conference theme, “Elevate the Caribbean — From Connectivity to Global Competitiveness”, the four-day event will convene senior government leaders, top regulatory officials, policy makers, cutting-edge technology innovators, and leading telecommunications providers from across the region and beyond. Attendees will collaborate to map out strategies for accelerating widespread digital transformation, boosting the Caribbean’s global market competitiveness, and unlocking inclusive, long-term sustainable economic growth.

    As the event’s principal sponsor, Liberty Caribbean will take a leading role in shaping the conference’s core programming. Company executives will lead and participate in high-profile keynote addresses, interactive roundtable debates, intimate fireside chats, and expert-led panels that examine both the transformative opportunities and complex challenges presented by today’s fast-growing AI-powered digital economy.

    Inge Smidts, Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Caribbean, emphasized the unique moment of opportunity for the Caribbean region amid rapid global technological change. “The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence is redefining how economies compete, businesses grow, and societies connect. For the Caribbean, this presents an unprecedented opportunity to leap forward,” Smidts said. “Liberty Caribbean is committed to investing in the networks, partnerships, and digital capabilities that will enable our region to embrace these opportunities with confidence. CANTO provides the ideal platform for the conversations and collaboration that will help shape the Caribbean’s next chapter of digital growth.”

    Throughout the conference, Liberty Caribbean will prioritize forward-looking discussions on four critical pillars of regional development: expanding accessible, high-speed connectivity across underserved communities, advancing meaningful digital inclusion for all population groups, developing progressive, innovation-friendly policy and regulatory frameworks, and strengthening cross-regional collaboration to speed up the pace of technological innovation.

    This multi-year sponsorship commitment reflects Liberty Caribbean’s broader mission to work hand-in-hand with governments, regulatory bodies, private enterprises, and industry stakeholders to build a more connected, economically resilient, and globally competitive Caribbean. As headline sponsor, the company will engage directly with regional cabinet ministers, senior regulators, ICT industry leaders, and private sector delegates to co-design the future trajectory of digital development across the Caribbean.

    Beyond high-level policy discussions, the 2026 conference will deliver a robust multi-format program that includes keynote presentations from industry trailblazers, expert-facilitated deep-dive discussions, hands-on technology showcases highlighting the latest digital innovations, and structured networking opportunities designed to forge new cross-sector partnerships. All programming is centered on advancing the Caribbean’s collective digital agenda and fostering deeper, more effective regional collaboration to meet shared development goals.

  • Superfund B Holdings: Advertisement of board resolution

    Superfund B Holdings: Advertisement of board resolution

    Pursuant to the provisions of Grenada’s Companies Act No. 35 of 1994 and the internal articles of association governing Superfund B Holdings, Inc., the firm’s board of directors has formally adopted a unanimous board resolution. This resolution carries the full legal weight of an action approved at a properly convened and quorate general meeting of the company’s stakeholders.

    The core decision formalized through this resolution is the appointment of Garvey Louison, a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) based at Louison Consulting in True Blue, St. George’s, Grenada, to the position of Liquidator of Superfund B Holdings, Inc. This appointment officially went into effect on July 15, 2026.

    All creditors and contributories of the company that wish to submit formal representations regarding the liquidation process are notified that they may submit their statements directly to the appointed liquidator, or via legal counsel representing the submitting party.

    This official public notice was dated July 15, 2026, and published by Louison Consulting, a firm of chartered certified accountants headquartered in True Blue, St. George’s, Grenada, West Indies. Contact details for the firm are provided for inquiries: telephone at 473-444-0400, fax at 473-444-0409, and email at info@louisonconsulting.com.

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  • C-SAC protocol named global finalist in the UN FAO’s 2026 AgriInno Challenge

    C-SAC protocol named global finalist in the UN FAO’s 2026 AgriInno Challenge

    A groundbreaking Caribbean-led financial mechanism designed to reward smallholder farmers for climate-friendly ecological stewardship has earned a spot among the world’s most promising agricultural innovations, cementing its place as a potential game-changer for global climate action in the farming sector.

    The Grenada-based Climate-Smart Agriculture Compliant (C-SAC) initiative was officially selected as one of only 13 global finalists for the 2026 Global AgriInno Challenge (GAC), hosted in Hangzhou, China. This recognition puts the C-SAC in the running for up to $30,000 in seed funding, as well as a high-profile opportunity to present its blockchain-powered solution at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Science and Innovation Forum in Rome this coming October.

    The innovation, developed by Steve Maximay, science advisor to the North East Farmers Organisation (NEFO), marks a fundamental shift in how smallholder farmers are compensated for their work advancing climate goals. For decades, traditional global commodity markets have paid farmers exclusively based on crop output, with no financial compensation for the on-the-ground ecological work required to meet the terms of international climate agreements. Maximay’s C-SAC tool and protocol fills this critical gap, creating a structured system to reward climate-positive farming practices.

    “Attachment of a financial incentive is the most effective way to drive widespread adoption of climate-smart adaptation among farmers,” Maximay explained in comments on the finalist selection, which he called a landmark win for Caribbean agricultural innovation. “We have developed a proven mechanism to deliver rewards to farmers that draws on negotiated climate justice and just transition funds. This framework moves farming communities from a state of constant climate vulnerability toward tangible, long-term sustainable abundance.”

    Beyond delivering financial incentives, a core function of C-SAC is to crack down on greenwashing in climate-smart agriculture labeling. Operating as a rigorous independent auditing protocol, the system was already adopted as the official de facto climate-smart mechanism by St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) to activate long-planned Climate Premium payments for farmers.

    The C-SAC framework scores farms across five key performance domains: natural resource conservation, energy usage, on-farm safety, biodiversity support, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. To earn official C-SAC certification, a farm must achieve a minimum baseline score of 40 points out of a total 100, a threshold designed to filter out unsubstantiated claims of climate-friendly practice.

    The true transformative power of C-SAC lies in its digital infrastructure, Maximay noted. By leveraging a secure blockchain-based distributed ledger and automated smart contracts, the system eliminates administrative delays and guarantees transparent delivery of Climate Premium payments. When farmers bring their harvest to market, they receive the standard commodity price from buyers, paired with an automatic 10 to 20 percent Climate Premium top-up sent directly to their digital wallets. Unlike climate premiums passed on to local consumers, this additional payment is sourced entirely from global just transition and climate justice reserve funds, delivering support directly to grassroots farming communities without raising food costs for local buyers.

    Looking ahead, the C-SAC Caribbean Programme, led by NEFO, will represent the region on the global innovation stage as it works to scale the framework to roughly 3,000 smallholder farmers across six Eastern Caribbean nations: Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis. If successful, the model could provide a replicable blueprint for connecting global climate finance directly to small-scale producers in climate-vulnerable regions around the world.

  • Grenada celebrates Caricom’s 53rd Anniversary in London

    Grenada celebrates Caricom’s 53rd Anniversary in London

    On July 6, 2026, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) gathered for a landmark celebration of its 53rd year of regional integration at a special reception and awards ceremony hosted at London’s DoubleTree by Hilton near the Tower of London. Grenada’s High Commission to the United Kingdom took a leading role in organizing the event alongside all other Caricom diplomatic missions based in the British capital, bringing together a diverse cross-section of attendees from across diplomatic, political, business and community spheres.

    The guest list included senior diplomats from across the global diplomatic corps, sitting UK parliamentarians, senior government representatives, leaders from the international business community, members of the large Caribbean diaspora based in the UK, and longstanding allies of the Caribbean region. Together, the group gathered to honor more than five decades of shared cooperation and integration across the Caribbean bloc.

    Leading Grenada’s delegation to the event was Her Excellency Rachér Croney, Grenada’s High Commissioner to the UK, who also holds the position of Chair of the Caricom Events Committee. In this capacity, Croney oversaw all coordination and planning for this year’s anniversary celebration. In addition to their participation in the broader program, the Grenada High Commission team staged a dedicated “Pure Grenada” exhibition designed to highlight the island nation’s one-of-a-kind cultural heritage, premium local goods, and untapped investment openings for global partners.

    The curated exhibition offered attendees a sensory introduction to Grenada, widely known as the Isle of Spice, featuring samples and displays of award-winning Grenadian chocolate, a range of locally harvested spices, and other artisanal goods produced on the island. Beyond showcasing local culture and products, the exhibit outlined targeted investment opportunities across the nation’s priority growth sectors: sustainable tourism, renewable energy development, agribusiness, the Blue Economy, and the creative industries. The presentation underscored Grenada’s longstanding commitment to inclusive, sustainable economic development and cemented the nation’s reputation as a competitive, welcoming destination for international trade and foreign direct investment.

    Addressing attendees during the official program, Croney emphasized that the annual Caricom Day celebration serves a dual purpose: it strengthens bonds of regional solidarity while creating space for individual member states to advance their national development priorities. “Caricom Day is a celebration of our shared Caribbean identity, resilience and collective achievements. It also provides an opportunity to showcase Grenada’s unique strengths and the many opportunities available for partnership, trade and investment. As Small Island Developing States, our greatest strength lies in our unity, our collaboration, and our shared commitment to sustainable development and regional prosperity,” Croney said.

    The official ceremony opened with opening remarks from His Excellency Dr Kevin Isaac, High Commissioner for St Kitts and Nevis, who marked the end of his tenure as Chair of the Caricom Caucus of Diplomatic Missions in London. A core ceremonial moment followed the opening address, with the Caricom flag formally passed from Isaac to His Excellency Anthony Severin, High Commissioner for St Lucia, signaling the official handover of the Caucus Chairmanship for the coming term.

    Guests also received remarks from The Honourable Chris Elmore MP, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for Multilateral Affairs, Human Rights, Latin America and the Caribbean. Elmore used his address to reaffirm the strength and enduring importance of the longstanding strategic partnership between the United Kingdom and the Caribbean region. A pre-recorded video message from The Honourable Philip J Pierre, Prime Minister of St Lucia and current Chair of Caricom, was also shared with attendees, outlining the bloc’s ongoing commitments to deepening regional integration, building economic resilience, advancing ambitious climate action, and coordinating collective responses to pressing shared global challenges.

    One of the most anticipated highlights of the evening was the presentation of the 2026 Caricom Awards, an annual honor that recognizes exceptional individuals whose work has driven forward Caribbean development and strengthened cross-regional cooperation. This year’s three award recipients reflected the breadth of contributions to the community: Jacqueline Roberts of St Vincent and the Grenadines received the Advocacy for Small States Award, Bertha Joseph of Dominica took home the Community Development Award, and Dr Les Johnson of Jamaica was honored with the Culture and Education Award.

    The formal program drew to a close with a ceremonial toast to Caricom, delivered by High Commissioner Croney. The toast celebrated 53 years of the bloc’s collective achievements and reaffirmed the core values of unity, cooperation, resilience, and shared purpose that continue to shape the Caribbean Community’s mission.

    As Caricom works to amplify its collective voice on the global stage, Grenada has reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating closely with fellow member states to advance shared regional priorities. These priorities include building climate resilience, driving inclusive sustainable economic growth, strengthening global food and nutrition security, advancing digital transformation across the region, expanding youth empowerment initiatives, and opening new opportunities for cross-regional and international trade and investment.

    Following the handover ceremony, the Grenada High Commission issued a formal statement congratulating Severin on his assumption of the Caricom Caucus Chairmanship, and extended sincere gratitude to Dr Kevin Isaac for his dedicated leadership and distinguished service during his tenure. The statement closed by reaffirming Grenada’s ongoing commitment to advancing its national interests, strengthening cross-regional cooperation within Caricom, and deepening the longstanding, enduring partnership between the Caribbean bloc and the United Kingdom.

  • For Women in Science 2026, call for applications opens

    For Women in Science 2026, call for applications opens

    A new opportunity has opened for early-career women scientists across the Caribbean, as L’Oréal Caribe and the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean have officially launched the 2026 application round for the regional L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme. This long-running initiative is designed to elevate and support outstanding female researchers in the region, offering two individual grants worth $15,000 each to fuel the advancement of cutting-edge scientific work.

    The application window for the 2026 cohort runs from May 19 to August 14, 2026. Eligible candidates include women scientists based in the Caribbean who are currently enrolled in doctoral research programs, completing postdoctoral work, or in the early stages of their professional scientific careers, across all STEM fields approved under the programme’s framework. On the regional level, the initiative is implemented in partnership with two key regional scientific bodies: the Caribbean Academy of Sciences and the Caribbean Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

    This regional programme forms a core part of the global L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science movement, a decades-old effort founded with the core mission of expanding women’s participation in scientific research and narrowing the persistent gender gap that remains entrenched in STEM sectors worldwide.

    Liana Camacho, Market Vice President of L’Oréal Caribe, emphasized the fundamental value of women’s contribution to global scientific progress. “At L’Oréal Caribe, we firmly believe that science needs the talent, creativity, and leadership of women to address the challenges of today and the future,” Camacho stated. “Through For Women in Science, we seek to increase the visibility of and support women researchers who are generating knowledge and innovation with an impact on our region and the world.”

    To qualify, applicants must be conducting research in one of the programme’s approved fields, which include formal sciences, life and environmental sciences, materials science, engineering, and technological sciences. Beyond providing direct financial support, the awards recognize women researchers working to advance scientific knowledge across disciplines, whose work directly targets solutions to some of the most pressing social and environmental challenges facing the Caribbean region.

    Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, reaffirmed the UN body’s commitment to breaking down systemic barriers for women in STEM. “UNESCO works to recognise and promote the talent of women in science, foster diverse perspectives, and break down the barriers that limit their professional development,” Azoulay said.

    The 2025 edition of the programme offered a clear illustration of the transformative impact of this support, honoring two Jamaican researchers: Dr Lori-Ann Fisher and Dr Arianne Brown Jordan, whose work addresses critical regional health and environmental challenges. Dr Fisher’s research explores the genetic underpinnings of liver diseases, while Dr Brown Jordan investigates the prevalence of waterborne bacterial diseases in distribution systems that serve low-income, vulnerable communities. The work of both 2025 awardees highlights the outsized contribution that Caribbean women scientists make to developing context-specific solutions for the region’s most pressing needs.

    Despite incremental progress in recent decades, gender disparity remains a persistent challenge across the global scientific landscape. UNESCO data shows that women make up only roughly one-third of all researchers worldwide. While Latin America and the Caribbean boast a higher share of women in scientific careers than the global average, major gaps remain in access to research funding, professional visibility, and leadership opportunities for women in the sector.

    Interested eligible candidates can access full eligibility guidelines and submit their applications via the official For Women in Science application portal at https://www.forwomeninscience.com/challenge/show/167. All applications must be submitted no later than the August 14, 2026 deadline.

  • Is there an economic war of the United States against Cuba?

    Is there an economic war of the United States against Cuba?

    When analyzing modern geopolitical confrontation, few tactics are as pervasive yet underdiscussed as economic warfare — a non-military strategy where one power leverages trade, finance, and regulatory pressure to force policy concessions from a targeted nation. As French scholar Christian Harbulot famously framed it, economic warfare stands as the most powerful expression of non-military power dynamics, designed to cripple an adversary by cutting it off from global commercial, financial, and technological exchange. For Cuba, this is not an abstract concept: it has been the daily reality of its relationship with the United States for more than six decades, in the form of the sweeping economic, commercial, and financial blockade that has shaped every layer of Cuban life.

    The origins of this prolonged economic campaign stretch back to the immediate aftermath of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which ousted the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. In response to the new revolutionary government’s nationalist policy reforms, then-U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower moved quickly to cut off most bilateral trade, only exempting medicines and a small set of food products. Just three years later, in February 1962, President John F. Kennedy formalized the full blockade using powers granted by the newly enacted Foreign Assistance Act, a framework that remains the legal foundation of the embargo to this day.

    Under the still-valid legislation, the U.S. executive branch is authorized to maintain a complete trade embargo with Cuba, ban all direct U.S. aid to the Cuban government, bar the use of American international aid funds allocated to global organizations for any Cuba-focused programs, and withhold all U.S. government benefits from Cuba until the island compensates U.S. citizens and companies for properties nationalized after the revolution. Critically, the law also grants the U.S. president broad discretionary power to adjust the scope and intensity of sanctions, a authority that successive U.S. administrations have repeatedly used to ratchet up political and economic pressure on Havana. For decades, proponents of the blockade justified the measures by claiming Cuba posed a critical threat to U.S. national security, a narrative that grew increasingly threadbare after the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, which plunged Cuba into a deep economic crisis.

    With the Cold War pretext no longer credible, the U.S. shifted its justifications to claims of human rights abuses, codifying this new framing in the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act — more commonly known as the Torricelli Law. This legislation marked a key turning point, expanding the economic war beyond U.S. borders to internationalize pressure on Cuba. It prohibited Cuba from accessing financing from major international financial institutions, imposed sanctions on foreign governments that forgive Cuban debt, banned U.S. subsidiaries operating in third countries from trading with the island, and imposes an 180-day ban on any ship carrying goods or passengers to or from Cuba docking at U.S. ports. A core outcome of this provision has been to push global financial institutions to avoid any engagement with Cuba, severely constraining the island’s access to foreign currency and complicating its commercial transactions with global partners.

    Four years later, the 1996 Helms-Burton Act deepened the extraterritorial reach of the blockade even further. Most notably, its Title III provision allows U.S. courts to hear lawsuits against foreign companies that operate in properties confiscated from U.S. owners after the revolution. This provision turned the economic war into a globally reaching measure, designed to deter third countries and foreign firms from doing business with Cuba through the threat of costly litigation. In recent decades, this provision has significantly shrunk the pool of foreign investment opportunities available to the island.

    Successive updates and expansions of the blockade over 60-plus years have turned it into a permanent, structural pillar of U.S.-Cuba confrontation, outlasting shifts in domestic political leadership in the United States and maintaining consistent pressure regardless of broader geopolitical changes. Even as some administrations have taken small steps to ease certain restrictions, former President Donald Trump intensified the campaign again with new executive orders, including a targeted energy siege that worsened the impact on Cuban communities. For Cuba, the cumulative impact of this decades-long economic warfare has been deep and multifaceted, touching every aspect of daily life, slowing long-term economic development, and reshaping the country’s engagement with the global economy.

    This op-ed is contributed by Ariel Pazos Ortiz, Consul of the Embassy of Cuba in Grenada. NOW Grenada does not take responsibility for the opinions and statements shared by contributors. Readers may report content that violates platform policies through official reporting channels.

  • Grenada Airports Authority appoints Dellison Charles as General Manager

    Grenada Airports Authority appoints Dellison Charles as General Manager

    The Grenada Airports Authority (GAA) has made a key leadership announcement, confirming that seasoned industry executive Dellison Charles will take up the post of General Manager when his appointment goes into effect on July 13, 2026. Bringing with him more than 15 years of top-tier leadership experience spanning aviation, logistics and customer service across the Caribbean and Latin American regions, Charles has built a reputation as a strategic, results-focused leader capable of driving meaningful change. Over the course of his career, he has built a distinguished track record centered on refining operational performance, forging durable, productive relationships with diverse stakeholders, and steering large-scale organizational transformation projects. Before joining GAA, Charles held senior leadership roles at three major regional industry players: FedEx Express, Copa Airlines, and the eZone Group. In these positions, he successfully led cross-functional teams of varied backgrounds and skill sets, rolling out a series of targeted initiatives that boosted operational efficiency, lifted overall customer satisfaction, deepened employee engagement across teams, and delivered consistent, long-term growth in business performance. As the new General Manager, Charles will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for all airport operations, advancing GAA’s core business objectives, and spearheading long-term growth projects that position the authority for future success. His deep pre-existing expertise in airport operational management, regulatory compliance, workforce development, and operational excellence makes him uniquely suited to guide the organization through its next phase of evolution and strengthen its role serving the broader Caribbean region. Shonda Cadore, Chair of the GAA Board of Directors, shared the board’s optimism around the appointment in an official statement. “We are delighted to welcome Mr Charles as our new General Manager,” Cadore said. “We are confident that his forward-thinking vision and deep industry expertise will help us advance our key strategic priorities, while we continue to deliver safe, efficient, and exceptional service to our passengers, industry partners, and the local community.” The GAA also took the opportunity to publicly recognize the contributions of Kurt Williams, who stepped in to serve as Acting General Manager throughout the leadership transition process. The authority highlighted Williams’ steady leadership and unwavering commitment during this interim period, which ensured no disruption to daily airport operations and allowed key organizational initiatives to continue moving forward on schedule. GAA closed its announcement by inviting industry stakeholders, community partners, and employees to join in welcoming Charles to the organization and offering their support as he prepares to begin this new leadership role. Disclaimer: NOW Grenada holds no responsibility for opinions, statements, or third-party contributor content. To report potential abusive content, follow the designated reporting link provided on the platform.