Elizabeth Morgan | With the US military deployed, attention now on Latin America and the Caribbean

General elections are due to be held in Guyana on September 1 and in Jamaica on September 3. Attention is focused on the election campaigns, not so much on foreign policy issues. Barbados is hosting the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA), August 22-31.

Jamaica is the current chair of CARICOM. The chair of the CARICOM Council for Foreign and Community Relations is St Kitts/Nevis.

While there may be some attention to what is happening internally in the USA, in Gaza and with Ukraine, there is breaking news about what is happening in the Latin American and the Caribbean region – the US has dispatched military vessels and forces into the southern Caribbean.

Guyana/Venezuela border issue

As we know, Guyana has very good reasons to be concerned about Venezuela, which has threatened to annex the Essequibo oil rich section of the country. In May, in another provocative act, Venezuela held elections for representatives in an area on the border with Guyana. This border controversy is before the International Court of Justice.

A US company, Exxon Mobil, is drilling oil in Essequibo. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, visited Guyana and other CARICOM countries in March. Rubio’s visit to Guyana was aimed at strengthening relations, including in security.

CARICOM concerns with Venezuela

CARICOM has had to deal with the issue of governance in Venezuela related to the legitimacy of the Maduro regime in the Organization of American States (OAS), which revealed fissures in CARICOM relations. There is the matter of Venezuelan immigrants/refugees particularly in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. It is estimated that there are over 40, 000 Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Trinidad and Tobago and over 30, 000 in Guyana.

In April, the USA revoked licences which had been granted for an oil and gas project between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela under the Rowley administration.

Jamaica’s relations with the Maduro regime have been strained for a while. Jamaica’s embassy in Caracas is closed.

CARICOM members en bloc have supported Guyana and called for a peaceful resolution to the border controversy. Others recall Venezuela’s generosity under the Petro-Caribe Agreement and remain sympathetic. Recall too that some CARICOM countries are still members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).

US message to the CARICOM countries

Besides a show of support in the CARICOM region with meetings and calls with leaders, Marco Rubio’s message was a warning against relations with China and Cuba. It was also a message about the Maduro regime in Venezuela as the Trump administration threatened tariffs on countries still importing oil from Venezuela.

US tariffs and visas

Visits, meetings and calls with Secretary of State Rubio did not prevent the Trump administration from imposing tariffs of 10 per cent and 15 per cent on CARICOM countries. The reciprocal tariff on Guyana was originally 38 per cent.

It also did not prevent visas being revoked.

US military deployment

Recently, the US announced that it had doubled a reward for information leading to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro to US$50m, accusing him of being “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world”.

The recent breaking news has been that the US has deployed military vessels (destroyers and a submarine) and 4,500 troops to the Southern Caribbean. Secretary of State Rubio stated that the US military will be executing military operations in the region with the goal of arresting Latin American drug traffickers, including a group linked to President Maduro.

There is now much speculation about what this means and whether the US is preparing to invade Venezuela in an effort to achieve regime change. There is also speculation about which country or countries could be next. Cuba would be a major prize for Secretary Rubio.

President Maduro is calling up a national militia. He is sending some of the militia to the Colombian border to address drugs.

It seems he has called for support from China. Note that China and Russia are allies of Venezuela.

The Venezuelan opposition leader seems to be calling for, and supporting US military action against Maduro. Within CARICOM, the newly- installed Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has made it clear that she will support the US position. Guyana has said it will support regional and global initiatives aimed at dismantling crime networks.

The Prime Minister of Barbados has called for the region to remain a zone of peace.

So, here we are in Latin America and the Caribbean with a US armada nearing the coastline of South America.

It is not clear whether anyone in CARICOM has any idea what will be happening next. There is what seems to be an unusual number of US military forces in Caribbean waters. Is it true that countries in the region have nothing to worry about as the US is focused only on the illegal trade in narcotic drugs? Still, let us reflect on the US’ history in this hemisphere.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in International trade policy and international politics. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com