In the first high-profile trip by a US official to the Caribbean in more than a year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be visiting a trio of CARICOM member states this week. 

The official visit to the Caribbean early in President Donald J. Trump’s term is a strong sign of the administration’s interest in the region; by comparison, former President Joe Biden did not visit any CARICOM member states during his term as president (although he did visit Puerto Rico once and vacationed several times in St Croix). Rubio’s predecessor, Antony Blinken, did not make his first Caribbean trip until his third year in office.

Rubio will be heading to Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname on a two-day trip from March 26-27. 

In a statement, the State Department said Rubio would work to “advance President Trump’s US foreign policy priorities in the Caribbean.”

During the Jamaica visit, Rubio will also be visiting with leaders from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti. 

“Secretary Rubio’s engagements with our valued Caribbean partners will promote regional cooperation to end illegal immigration, counter transnational organized crime, strengthen regional actions to address Haiti’s political and security challenges, and strengthen the United States’ economic partnerships with Caribbean countries,” the State Department said in a statement.

While Guyana and Suriname are geographically in South America, they both are strong members of CARICOM, the Caribbean Community, with a deep cultural, political and historical kinship. Guyana is actually the seat of the headquarters of CARICOM.

— CJ