Just over two weeks ago Caricom issued a statement that was probably without precedent in its long relationship with the United States. It condemned in the strongest terms, “the unenlightened views” reportedly expressed by President Trump in respect of Haiti and other developing countries. In a statement it said that it viewed his remarks as an “insult to the character of the countries named and their citizens”, and as “totally unacceptable”.
It followed a year in which it became apparent that the President’s decision to put “America First” was taking the US in a direction dangerously at odds with Caribbean concerns.
The first public indication of the region’s unease came last June. Then, the President of Guyana, David Granger, in his capacity as Chairman of Caricom, said that the region was “deeply dismayed and disappointed” by the US decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement of Climate Change. For the Caribbean, climate change was, he said, “an existential threat” requiring global solutions. In robust language, Caricom described the US decision as an “abdication of that responsibility”, and as having sent a negative signal to those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
