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Vol. 31, Issue 20 QUEENS/LONG ISLAND/BRONX/MANHATTAN May 15-21, 2020
Leaked CARICOM memo says US
messing with region as a zone of peace
By Bert Wilkinson
A leaked internal memo prepared
for a special virtual meeting
of Caribbean foreign ministers
in the past week has blamed
the Trump administration in the
US for threatening the region’s
long fought for status as “a zone
of peace.”
Prepared by the Guyana-based
CARICOM secretariat ahead of
a two-day meeting that ended
last Friday, the memo seemed to
severely doubt stated American
intentions that the American
military build up near Venezuela
has much to do with preventing
narco trafficking from Venezuela
to the US, noting that this is
threatening the region as a special
zone of peace.
Trump on April 1, announced
that US navy ships were being
deployed near Venezuela as part
of a plan by his administration to
embark on a major anti narcotics
exercise to stem the flow of drugs
to the US mainland. Criminal
narcotic smuggling and narcotic
terrorism indictments have
already been dished out against
President Nicolas Maduro and
other top officials, moves widely
seen as stepping up the pressure
on Maduro to leave office.
The deployment is reported to be
among the largest in the region
since the 1989 effort to remove
Panamanian leader General
Manuel Noriega.
“The US has taken advantage
of internal weakness wrought
by the pandemic in countries
where it has been seeking regime
change — Iran, Venezuela, and
Cuba — to strengthen its sanctions
regime,” parts of the documents
stated.
It added that Venezuela “enjoys
the support of Russia,” contending
that this “has deepened great
power rivalry and the attendant
security dangers, threatening
WIADCA’s President Jean Joseph. Photo by Nelson A. King
Decision on WIADCA Labor Day
Carnival expected soon
By Nelson A. King
As the global community
grapples with the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic,
the Brooklyn-based West
Indian American Day Carnival
Association (WIADCA)
says it plans to proceed
with its year-round
community programs and
New York Caribbean Carnival
Week “with several new
offerings.”
However, President of
WIADCA, Jean Joseph told
Caribbean Life on Thursday,
May 14 that the board
has to meet soon to take
a definite decision on the
holding of Labor Day Carnival
and will inform the
newspaper of its decision.
In a statement to community
members and supporters,
posted on its website on
May 2, WIADCA – organizer
of the massive Caribbean
Carnival parade on Brooklyn’s
Eastern Parkway, on
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