U.S. Secretary Of State For CARICOM Meeting; Guyana, Suriname Visit 

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. March 24, 2025: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to travel to the Caribbean again this week, but this time its for a series of high-level meetings with regional leaders of the Caribbean Community, (CARICOM), as part of a three-nation tour aimed at deepening U.S. engagement.

On Wednesday, Rubio will arrive in Kingston, Jamaica, where he will be hosted by Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and meet with a delegation of CARICOM leaders to discuss pressing regional issues, including U.S. foreign policy, security, trade, and migration.

Among the key participants in the Kingston talks will include Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who will represent CARICOM as a whole; Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Stuart Young, who leads regional security matters; and Fritz Alphonse Jean, the newly appointed head of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council.

Rubio’s visit comes at a pivotal moment, as Caribbean leaders express concern over worsening insecurity in Haiti, shifting U.S. immigration policies, false claims over Cuban doctors in the region, and potential economic fallout from a proposed Trump administration policy that would increase port fees on China-linked ships traveling to the United States.

“The meeting with Secretary Rubio presents a strategic opportunity to strengthen U.S.-Caribbean ties and ensure our concerns are addressed at the highest level,” said Prime Minister Stuart Young, who will be accompanied by Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Dr. Amery Browne.

Following his visit to Jamaica, Secretary Rubio will continue his diplomatic mission with stops in Guyana and Suriname, where he will meet with Presidents Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi. The two South American nations are both CARICOM members and emerging energy powerhouses.

Rubio’s meetings across the region aim to reinforce U.S. partnerships amid growing concerns that recent decisions – such as the termination of the Biden-era humanitarian parole program and the rollback of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and Venezuelans- could destabilize vulnerable communities.

Rubio first visited the Caribbean in February when he stopped in the Dominican Republic. He has so far said nothing on the crisis in Haiti, which shares the same island with the DR.