Above: US Vice President Joe Biden with Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie (BIS Photo)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
United States Vice President Joe Biden thanked the Caribbean this week for its “encouragement” to the US on shifting its longstanding policy on Cuba.
Biden thanked the region for urging the US to “make the change” in its Cuba policy, a move made official by US President Barack Obama in December.
The Vice President made the remark during this week’s Caribbean Energy Security Summit in Washington.
CARICOM has long been advocating an end to the economic and trade embargo on Cuba, along with urging an end to the isolation of Cuba from hemispheric councils.
CARICOM has made the call at many regional summits in recent years, although it’s not yet clear whether Cuba’s opening to the US will help or hurt the region’s economies, particularly the tourism sector.