By Sir Ronald Sanders
When Marco Rubio arrived in St. Kitts to address the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, he did so only hours after attending President Trump’s State of the Union address in Washington. The speech ended late. Before dawn, he was on his way to the Caribbean. That matters.
Secretaries of State do not lightly compress regional diplomacy into an already demanding schedule. His decision to attend signaled respect for CARICOM’s collective invitation and recognition that the Caribbean is not marginal in Washington’s hemispheric priorities. It also demonstrated continued commitment to direct engagement.
In his public remarks, Secretary Rubio spoke plainly about transnational crime, illegal migration, energy opportunity, and the stabilization of Venezuela under interim authorities led by Delcy Rodríguez. He referenced the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas and made clear that democratic elections remain the ultimate measure of legitimacy. His point was straightforward: a stronger, safer Caribbean strengthens the United States. There would have been no quarrel with any of that.
On security, there is also no disagreement. The criminal organizations that exploit Caribbean waters and transit routes threaten both U.S. and CARICOM societies. Drug trafficking, arms flows, and gang networks undermine governance from Haiti to Miami. Closer intelligence cooperation and maritime coordination are shared necessities.
On migration, Secretary Rubio emphasized that the United States is conducting a global review of its migration and visa policies, expected to conclude by the end of June. For CARICOM countries, access to U.S. visas is not a peripheral matter. It affects business travel, family connections, tourism flows, education, and longstanding people-to-people ties. Any restrictions are therefore felt quickly and widely across Caribbean societies.
Caribbean governments have consistently accepted their own nationals who are deported from the United States. The difficulty arises when small states are encouraged to accept non-nationals without defined limits or shared responsibility. For large countries, numbers may be manageable. For small island and coastal states with limited fiscal space and investigative reach, even modest numbers can carry disproportionate social and financial impact.
It is understood that some CARICOM states have already entered such arrangements. What remains essential, however, is that any framework across the region be based on clarity, reciprocity, defined limits, and respect for sovereign decision-making. Caribbean governments will follow the outcome of the U.S. review closely and will engage constructively once its parameters are known.
Energy and regional stability formed the second major theme of the Secretary’s remarks. Developments in Venezuela were presented as a shift from immediate stabilization to recovery. Caribbean governments will judge that progress by results. If Venezuela moves toward durable legitimacy and reduces regional instability, the entire basin benefits. If uncertainty returns, its effects will again be widely felt.
Cuba, though absent from the Secretary’s formal plenary remarks, was part of private discussions.
Subsequent reporting confirms that U.S. officials close to the Secretary met privately in St. Kitts with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson and close aide to former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. That meeting confirms that discussions between Washington and Havana are active.
Reports suggest that the United States is exploring a phased easing of sanctions in exchange for incremental economic and governance changes. Secretary Rubio has indicated publicly that the United States is prepared to listen if Cuban authorities are willing to undertake significant economic reforms that expand private enterprise and open space for broader freedoms.
This moment differs from earlier periods of strain. Cuba faces severe economic contraction, energy shortages, and humanitarian pressure. Regional energy dynamics are also shifting. In such circumstances, steady engagement may yield more than isolation alone.
It is further understood that discussions are underway regarding energy arrangements that could allow Venezuelan oil to reach Cuba through controlled channels, easing the island’s acute pressures. These negotiations remain sensitive and incomplete. But they reflect recognition that collapse in Cuba would carry consequences for the wider Caribbean, particularly in migration and regional stability.
CARICOM governments have long advocated dialogue rather than rupture in dealing with Cuba. Public statements by regional leaders emphasized de-escalation, reform, and stability. The indication that Washington is pursuing quiet engagement was therefore noted with interest and, in many quarters, with cautious welcome.
The broader significance of the meeting is clear. The Caribbean is America’s immediate neighbourhood. Trade flows in both directions. Migration binds families. Security threats move across maritime space without regard to borders.
The United States seeks secure borders, stable neighbours, and resilient economic ties. CARICOM states seek growth, climate resilience, and protection against transnational crime. These aims intersect.
If reinvigoration means deeper security cooperation, structured and lawful migration arrangements, investment that integrates Caribbean economies into resilient supply chains, and pragmatic engagement to reduce instability in Venezuela and Cuba, then the meeting in Basseterre may prove consequential.
If it becomes a series of expectations unsupported by proportional safeguards, friction will return. Small states guard sovereignty carefully because sovereignty is their shield. That instinct is not obstruction. It is prudence.
The Secretary’s overnight journey from Washington to Basseterre signalled seriousness. The discussions that followed were constructive. They did not erase every difference. But they kept dialogue open at a moment when steady engagement is essential.
In this hemisphere, instability travels quickly. Sustained diplomacy must move faster, in Washington and across CARICOM alike.
(The author is the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the OAS, Dean of the OAS Ambassadors accredited to the OAS, and Chancellor of the University of Guyana. Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com)
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And after a number of Caribbean countries were coerced and forced by the US into accepting US deportees and refugees, a Judge ruled that the move is unlawful. Two days ago, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled that immigrants cannot be forcibly transferred to third countries where they are not citizens without meaningful notice and the ability to raise fear about being deported to that country. A number of Caribbean countries just blindly accepted US proposal fearing no would result in heightened US economic pressure, visa restrictions and international transit banking blockade. Might is not always right.
CARICOM must be confronted for allowing foreign powers to dictate Caribbean policy and for supporting the termination of Cuban workers’ contracts under external pressure. This is not diplomacy — it is capitulation. At a moment that demanded courage and regional unity, CARICOM chose compliance and exposed a troubling willingness to sacrifice Caribbean principles to satisfy outside interests.
For decades, Cuba has stood shoulder to shoulder with the Caribbean, sending doctors, nurses, teachers, and professionals to serve our people when crises hit and when powerful nations turned away. Cuban solidarity has never come with threats, coercion, or domination. To now discard Cuban workers to appease foreign demands is an act of political cowardice and a betrayal of the very idea of Caribbean unity.
History has already shown us the consequences of submission. Haiti, the first free Black republic, was punished for its freedom — forced into crippling payments by France and repeatedly destabilized through intervention by the United States. The suffering of Haiti stands as a permanent warning of what happens when external powers are allowed to shape Caribbean destiny. We should have learned from that history, not repeat it.
The Caribbean cannot speak of sovereignty while taking instructions from abroad. We cannot claim dignity while abandoning allies who have consistently supported us. CARICOM must decide whether it represents Caribbean people or foreign approval.
Caribbean people deserve leadership with backbone, memory, and courage. We shuld reject intimidation. We should reject political pressure disguised as partnership. And we should stand firmly with Cuba today — because true solidarity is proven not in words, but in moments like this.