WE MAY VERY WELL see the true mettle of CARICOM when its leaders meet today and tomorrow in Basseterre, St Kitts, for their inter-sessional conference, with developments in Port-au-Prince and Caracas likely to scuttle their planned agenda.
The turmoil in Haiti has not only been characterised by angry demonstrations in recent weeks, but by deadly violence as well.
The political showdown in Venezuela, pitting the incumbent president against a self-declared interim one, will continue to attract the interest of Caribbean Community leaders.
These are weighty matters in which regional leaders cannot just show passing interest. The security issues both Haiti and Venezuela raise have far-reaching implications for this region.
As long as Haiti remains impoverished and crippled by violence, its people will flee that nation looking for a better life elsewhere. While a few may venture south, the majority will head north, and The Bahamas will continue to be a key destination. The Bahamas is a relatively prosperous country by Caribbean standards, and it has welcomed tens of thousands of Haitians over many years.
But Nassau, despite its high per capita income, cannot support any continuous influx of illegal Haitian refugees.
It is perhaps contemporaneous that much of the problem in Haiti has its genesis in the PetroCaribe deal and the fate of money from that deal based on a 2017 government report. We accept that the PetroCaribe deal has become nothing more than a lightning rod for the widespread discontentment which has been on the surface in Haiti since the devastating earthquake nine years ago, in which more than 100 000 people perished.
The uneasiness which hangs over Venezuela means that as long as the stalemate persists, then the exodus of people will continue. The Caribbean should expect more of our Latin American neighbours to flock to our shores, not only to Trinidad and Tobago and/or Guyana, but the other states. Venezuela has been a loyal and good neighbour to many Caribbean islands, especially with its PetroCaribe oil programme and indeed other projects, but this region has a limited capacity to offer meaningful help.
This is why CARICOM leaders must once again issue a statement urging a peaceful solution to the Venezuela problem, led by and involving Venezuela. Any declaration from St Kitts must have the backing of all CARICOM members.
That is why the comments of five former prime ministers speaking in unison on the issue and giving full support to the positions already outlined by CARICOM, were so important. A peaceful outcome in the interest of the Venezuelan people must be the main concern. The United Nations needs to be at the centre of the solution.
Given all that’s happening, the public will be watching with a hawk’s eye the decisions and positions taken in Basseterre. The world must accept that while the Caribbean is a collection of small states, it is united.
CARICOM must not genuflect to Washington, London or Bogota.