Caribbean Community nations are stepping up support for finance-starved Cuba, accelerating cash and aid shipments through the regional secretariat in Guyana. The head of the 15-nation bloc said an update on shipment dates will be provided this week.
Terrance Drew, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and the current chairman of the bloc, said the region has no intention of failing to honor any pledges it has made to assist Cuba at this time.
The Spanish-speaking island has faced economic desperation as its power grid repeatedly collapsed and the US maintained an economic blockade, including restrictions on fuel and supplies.
“Cuba has never turned its back on the Caribbean. When our people needed doctors, Cuba sent them. When our students needed education, Cuba opened its classrooms. When disaster struck, Cuba was among the first to offer assistance. Today, we return that kindness not as charity, but as family. This is what CARICOM is about — standing together, sharing burdens, and ensuring that no member of our Caribbean family faces hardship alone. St. Kitts and Nevis is proud to contribute, and we stand ready to offer whatever further assistance we can in the days ahead,” he told reporters this week.
For its part, the PM said his federation has already pledged a $500,000 contribution to the regional effort to send solar panels, milk, baby food, batteries, beans, flour, rice, canned goods, basic medical supplies, and water tanks to Cuba. He added that the first $100,000 was deposited into the secretariat’s accounts last week, and additional installments will be sent over the next five months.
“We are highlighting baby food, which we know is critically important, but we have a list, and we are working through it. I want to thank the other countries that have also contributed significantly. And in short order, CARICOM will update. In today’s world, opportunities must be pursued, negotiated and secured. Nobody is going to bring the opportunity to you or to us and rest it on our lap. We have to be innovative. We have to be proactive. We have to establish relationships that would allow us to meet our objective, and that is why we are so aggressive in our diplomatic outreach,” he stated.
He reminded that Mexico’s government has already agreed to ensure aid from the region reaches Cuba. This scenario remains in place, he said.
The move to help Cuba comes as the US is exerting enormous pressure on the region to reduce decades of close diplomatic and functional cooperation ties. Some member nations have bowed to US edicts to cut out the Cuban government from benefiting from US dollar payments to Cuban medical professionals working in the region because it regards the part payment system as a form of slave labor and human trafficking. Large numbers of Cuban personnel are preparing to return home from Jamaica and Guyana in the coming days, following the recent collapse of talks regarding payment systems to Cuban medics.
