Rubio to Meet With Caribbean Leaders   02/25 06:15

   

   (AP) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio flies into the Caribbean country of 
St. Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday for talks with regional leaders who, like 
others around the world, are unsettled and uncertain about Trump administration 
policies.

   After President Donald Trump ordered a military operation last month to 
remove and arrest Venezuela's then-leader, Nicols Maduro, stepped up 
aggressive tactics to combat alleged drug smuggling and turned up pressure on 
Cuba, Rubio will attend a summit of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM.

   During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Trump called Maduro's 
capture "an absolutely colossal victory for the security of the United States. 
And it also opens up a bright new beginning for the people of Venezuela."

   Leaders from the 15-nation bloc are gathering to debate pressing issues in a 
region that Trump has targeted for a 21st century incarnation of the Monroe 
Doctrine meant to ensure U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

   Trump said his administration is "restoring American security and dominance 
in the Western Hemisphere, acting to secure our national interests and defend 
our country from violence, drugs, terrorism and foreign interference."

   CARICOM leaders have complained about administration measures that include 
demands for nations to accept third-country deportees from the U.S., reject 
Cuban medical missions and chill relations with China.

   Godwin Friday, newly elected prime minister of St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines, echoed the fears of many European leaders when he said the 
Caribbean is "challenged from inside and out. International rules and practices 
that we have become used to over the years have changed in troubling ways."

   Caribbean leaders point to shifting global order

   During Tuesday's opening ceremony, Terrance Drew, prime minister of St. 
Kitts and Nevis and CARICOM chair, said the region "stands at a decisive hour."

   "The global order is shifting," he said. "Supply chains remain uncertain, 
energy markets fluctuate and climate shocks intensify."

   Like other leaders, Drew spoke about changing geopolitics and said the 
humanitarian situation in Cuba must be addressed and taken seriously, something 
also stressed by Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

   "It must be clear that a prolonged crisis in Cuba will not remain confined 
to Cuba," Holness warned. "It will affect migration, security and economic 
stability across the Caribbean basin."

   Holness said Jamaica "stands firmly for democracy" and that his country also 
"supports constructive dialogue between Cuba and the U.S. aimed at 
de-escalation, reform and stability."

   Bahamian Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell told The Associated Press on Tuesday 
ahead of the summit that he doesn't know if individual topics will come up in 
talks with Rubio but said he expects a full discussion on the nature of the 
relationship with the U.S.

   "It is about mutual respect and a rules-based order," he said. "Those are 
some of the things we would expect from the meeting, and we are also available 
for any private dialogue with Mr. Rubio."

   The State Department has not said which officials Rubio will meet with 
Wednesday but that he intends to discuss ways to promote regional security and 
stability, trade and economic growth in group and bilateral meetings.

   Caribbean leaders also are expected to talk about other issues like 
security, reparations, climate change and financing, and a single market 
economy.

   US policy in the Caribbean

   Rubio's visit comes more than a month after the U.S. captured Maduro and 
brought him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.

   The U.S. also has killed at least 151 people in strikes targeting small 
boats accused of smuggling drugs since early September. The latest attack 
Monday killed three people in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. has not provided 
evidence that the targeted boats are ferrying drugs.

   Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister, has previously 
praised the attacks. Tuesday was no exception as she thanked Trump, Rubio and 
the U.S. military "for standing firm against narcotrafficking" and for their 
cooperation in national security matters.

   "The crime is so bad, I cannot depend on just my military, my protective 
services," she said.

   Cuba's situation also is expected to dominate talks at CARICOM's summit.

   Cuba's U.N. resident coordinator Francisco Pichn told AP on Monday that the 
U.S. oil embargo is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching those still 
struggling to recover from Hurricane Melissa, which struck eastern Cuba in late 
October as a Category 3 storm.

   He noted that the energy blockade and fuel shortages "affect the entire 
logistics chain involved in being able to work in Cuba at this time, anywhere 
in the country."