A little over a week ago the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, met in Kingston with Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness. Subsequently, he held a round table with the foreign Ministers of The Bahamas, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, St Kitts, St Lucia, and St Maarten.
The encounter proved contentious even before it had begun. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley sharply rejected the US approach, drawing a clear line between her government’s position and that of the Jamaican Prime Minister. Criticising the side-lining of CARICOM, Ms Mottley described the US approach as an attempt to divide and rule: a position backed by Trinidad, Grenada, St Vincent and Antigua. Mr Holness and Mr Pompeo refuted the suggestion, while others in CARICOM said little or nothing.
It was the second time in twelve months a high-level political meeting with the US has indicated that at a time of intensifying great power rivalry, CARICOM is irretrievably divided, when it comes to foreign policy.