‘A great ally’

Security issues are expected to hold prominence in discussions between Marco Rubio and Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness when the United States secretary of state kick-starts his two-day tour of the Caribbean in Jamaica today.

The Trump administration is pushing for tighter security along its “third border”, believing that Jamaica is central to its efforts.

“Jamaica is probably our most like-minded partner in the Caribbean,” United States Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone said ahead of Rubio’s visit to the island today.

He said, as such, the talks present “a huge opportunity” for closer focus on commercial shipping lanes through Jamaica, his country’s maritime security and narcotics and arms trafficking.

“So, Jamaica is a key partner from a security perspective in regard to dealing with counter narcotics [and] in regard to dealing with arms trafficking. Deepening that coordination will help not only improve the security and safety of Americans but also in dealing with this shared challenge that we have in Haiti,” Claver-Carone said during a virtual media briefing on Tuesday.

Further, he said from a commercial side, Jamaica is a key partner in maintaining maritime routes that come from the Panama Canal and the upward flows through the region.

“We want to strengthen that. Obviously, this has been a discussion with Jamaica for a long time. The Government, Prime Minister Holness, has been a great ally [and] has made great strides in dealing with the issues of crime in Jamaica.

“The economic fiscal management of Jamaica has been one of the bright spots not only in the Caribbean but in the entire region in that regard, and helping them deal with that criminality, et cetera, is going to increase as well – the opportunities and the development of perhaps one of our greatest allies in the Caribbean there in Jamaica,” he said.

He said while they’re in Jamaica, Rubio will meet with Haiti on how to tackle gang violence that has crippled the country for decades.

He said the discussion is to ensure that the Haitian National Police and the provisional government have the support needed to be able to tackle the violence of these gangs, “which, at the end of the day, is important for the security not only of the United States but also of the entire Caribbean”.

MEETING WITH MOTTLEY

Rubio will also meet with Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, who currently heads CARICOM.

“This is where those kind of joint topics and issues of energy security in Haiti is a great opportunity to meet, even though we’re deeply committed to the bilateral relationship with each of these Caribbean nations,” he said.

Talks are also expected to take place with newly sworn in Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Stuart Young amid energy concerns.

He noted that Trinidad has been an energy leader in the region but is at a crossroads with its development as it seeks to revitalise its natural gas opportunities.

“There, along with a lot of the challenges posed with Venezuela, we’re deeply committed to working with Trinidad to figuring out how to re-energise that – those natural gas opportunities and ensure that its economy continues to move forward despite the challenges presented with Venezuela and otherwise,” said Claver-Carone.

At the same time, he pointed to Guyana where Rubio will travel to and from there to Suriname, the special envoy said the former is poised to this year become the largest per capita oil producer in the world, surpassing Qatar and Kuwait.

“The security of Guyana is a key priority for us in the same way that we have been working with countries in the Gulf states to ensure the security cooperation from the regional threats there, Iran, et cetera, we want to work with Guyana in order to ensure the security cooperation there and its guarantees on its security,” he said, adding that Rubio is likely to discuss energy development in Suriname.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com