Seven postal workers indicted
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says seven US Postal Service workers in Puerto Rico have been indicted on drug charges.
According to the DEA the seven shipped thousands of parcels of heroin, cocaine and marijuana through the mail.
A DEA statement said the mail carriers, who are among 20 people charged in the case, took advantage of their jobs to ship drugs between Puerto Rico, Texas, California and Arizona.
Agents from the DEA and the postal service’s Office of Inspector General were executing arrest warrants for the defendants in pre-dawn raids in San Juan.
The mail carriers are also accused of facilitating the shipment of guns from the US mainland to Puerto Rico.
Banking on more IMF funds
Grenada is set to receive just under US$2 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by year end.
An IMF mission has been holding talks with Finance Minister Nazim Burke as well as representatives from the business, financial and labour sectors.
It has given a positive assessment on the progress made in the implementation of Grenada’s economic programme.
The team heads back to Washington where it is expected to recommend the disbursement of US$1.89 million for Grenada at a mid-November meeting of the Executive Board.
Minister defends Clico plan
The finance minister in Trinidad and Tobago is sticking to his plans to reimburse depositors in Clico’s executive pension scheme over a 20-year period and at zero per cent interest.
Finance Minister Winston Dookeran says when the previous government guaranteed payment to investors, it was done without financial backing for the deal in place.
Dookeran says to pay the full TT$12 billion owed to depositors now would be at the expense of the government’s social programmes.
However he says investors in desperate need of their funds could be given special consideration.
Opposition cites Venezuela boycott
Dominica’s opposition United Workers Party (UWP) has defended its decision to continue a nine-month old boycott of the country’s parliament.
Two of the party’s MPs took their oath of office in the parliament on Tuesday.
However moments later, the UWP’s MPs and senators walked out with the party explaining that it was continuing the boycott it initiated after the 18 December general election over alleged irregularities.
Former Prime Minister Edison James says those criticising the boycott should note that the UWP is not the first to take such action in the hemisphere.
He made reference to Venezuela, where the opposition stayed away from parliament “for five years”.
