Mike Pompeo arrives to simmering controversy
By Bert Wilkinson
Mike Pompeo arrived in
Jamaica late Tuesday for his
two-day summit meeting with
a select group of Caribbean
leaders and high officials but
even as he touched down on
Jamaican soil, a number of
Caribbean Community governments
wasted little time in condemning
Washington for again
trying to divide the integration
movement by cherry picking
only so-called friendly nations.
Down to attend the meeting
with the American Secretary of
State, are Jamaica, The Bahamas,
Belize, St. Kitts, Haiti,
The Dominican Republic, St.
Lucia and Dutch St. Maarten.
Boycotting because they are
upset representatives from the
wider grouping were not invited
are Trinidad and Barbados,
both of whom have banned
their foreign ministers from
even thinking of heading to
the airport to attend the meeting.
Grenadian Prime Minister
Keith Mitchell, one of the longest
serving regional head of
government, also announced
that no one from his administration
will attend as he made
his position on CARICOM solidarity
known.
Governments say they are
upset that Washington sent
invites only to certain governments
Caribbean L 14 ife, January 24-30, 2020
it thinks will support
its withering efforts to oust
the administration of President
Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela
and to control the 35-nation
Organization of American
States (OAS). The OAS has
largely been lining up behind
the US stance on Venezuela.
US President Donald Trump
did the same thing last year,
as the leaders of Jamaica, The
Bahamas, St. Lucia, Haiti and
The Dominican Republic were
flown to Trump’s Mar-O-Largo
Florida estate for a meeting
with the US president with
Venezuela again being on the
agenda. Caricom leaders had
described the invites to that
select group as deeply polarizing.
Unprepared to put up with
such moves this time around,
they argue that the time has
come to take a stance.
On Wednesday, Antigua
through Foreign Minister E. P.
Chet Greene said “we are very
much in support of and identify
with the sentiments expressed
by the CARICOM Chair, Prime
Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados.
As a government, we stand
in support of this position.”
Not pulling any punches,
Mottley at the weekend had
described the entire scenario
as an undisguised attempt by
the US to divide Caricom, noting
that “as chairman of CARICOM,
it is impossible for me to
agree that my foreign minister
should attend a meeting with
anyone to which members of
CARICOM are not invited. If
some are invited and not all,
then it is an attempt to divide
this region.”
Colombia’s President Ivan Duque, right, talks with Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan
Guaido, center, as US State Secretary Mike Pompeo follows, far left, after attending a ceremony
marking one year since a car bomb attack at the police academy in Bogota, Colombia,
during the inauguration of a regional anti-terrorism summit, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020.
The Colombian government blamed rebels of the National Liberation Army, ELN, for the
bombing that killed at least 21 people on Jan. 17, 2019. Associated Press / Ivan Valencia
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