Pulse of the Caribbean

#146 Caribbean News Roundup Episode 1 Week of December 1

• Pulse of the Caribbean

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Here’s a look at what’s making Caribbean headlines.

  • U.S. issues warning over Venezuelan airspace 
  • Charter fee hikes in the BVI impacting U.S. VI operators
  •  Jamaica secures $6.7B for hurricane recovery
  • Dominican Republic–Haiti border wall gaps and security implications
  • Election results in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia

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This podcast is brought to you by Mystic by the Sea, offering a variety of jewelry, original art, and gifts on the waterfront inside Palm Passage, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Diamond Key Marina, Yosundike, British Virgin Islands, home of Fotsy's Taboo, open daily for lunch and dinner, and your getaway to the bubbly pool, a natural jacuzzi and hidden gem. To reserve more ants at Diamond Key, visit Botiball.com. Welcome to Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup, episode one for the week of December 1st. Here's a look at what's making Caribbean headlines. We start a report with a look at U.S. Caribbean affairs. On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted to all airlines, pilots, drug dealers, and human traffickers, please consider the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety, Trump tweeted. While the U.S. President posted this tweet, the U.S. cannot legally close another country's airspace. But Trump's post could cause travel uncertainty. Days after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration alerted aircraft of heightened military activity in and around Venezuela, the U.S. President made his comments. The U.S. has increased its military presence in the Caribbean on what it says is a mission to fight drug smuggling. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro denies drug trafficking accusations and has called the U.S. mission an effort to outthrow him. Our next stop is the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. A coalition of U.S. Virgin Islands Marine operators have traveled to Washington, D.C. to attract U.S. federal attention to the drastic increase in British Virgin Islands charter vessel fields that they believe are causing a charter sector crisis in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Project Fair Waters Group, led by Crown Bay Marina President Kosi Ono, met with U.S. Department of State and Commerce, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Their message, the British Virgin Islands increased levies for foreign-based vessels, are driving vessels, revenues, and jobs out of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since the BVI is a U.K. overseas territory, the U.S. VI cannot discuss external matters directly, hence the request for U.S. federal action. Since June 1st, foreign charter vessels doing multi-night BVI voyages must pay up to$24,000 a year, up from$800. Day charter prices rose from$200 to$8,500. Marine operators claim the new structure make cross-border trips unaffordable when added to custom and port entry fees. BVI officials say the reform modernizes outdated rules and increased foreign vessel control. U.S. Virgin Islands operators said scores of boats have re-registered in the British Virgin Islands or cut BVI routes, affecting marinas, fuel docks, hotels, restaurants, and provisioning companies. Professional Charter Association estimates the charter sector contributes over$160 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands economy annually. Project Fair Waters estimates that 90 vessels have moved to the British Virgin Islands, costing approximately$14 million in direct seasonal spending and up to$100 million in indirect consequences. Now on to Jamaica. Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank Group have assembled a comprehensive package of up to 6.7 billion US dollars over three years to strengthen Jamaica's recovery and reconstruction efforts after Hurricane Melissa and at the request of Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness. This coordinated initiative uses disaster preparedness financing, sovereign financing, grant support, and private sector investments to help Jamaica recover fiscally, responsibly, and long term. Prime Minister Holness will discuss implementation plans with foreign financial institution representatives. Recovery will require large resources and long-term expenditures due to the$8.8 billion in losses. Critical issues and Jamaica's resilience are being addressed in comprehensive recovery planning. Technical assistance and policy consulting services funded by funding from the five institutions are also helping Jamaica recover effectively, resiliently, and according to global disaster response best practices. Twelve million in grants from the Inter-American Development Bank Group, World Bank Group, and Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean have been mobilized. In other news from the Dominican Republic, the Dominican Republic Haiti border wall near Dajarbon has at least six major gaps, according to travelers. The openings are between the old and new custom checks causing concerns. The border's structure damage has not been addressed by authorities. Haiti Dominican Republic border is roughly 392 kilometers. The government of the Dominican Republic started building a smart border wall in 2022. The construction has a concrete base, metal barrier, and surveillance systems in secure areas, controlling irregular migration, drug armed trafficking, human trafficking, and smuggling is the official purpose of the constructed wall. According to the authorities, the wall protects farms and cattle from cross-border theft, with some ranchers reporting an 80% decrease in theft after the border wall installation. Next up, election results for St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines after this. Thursday's general election in St. Vincent and the Grenadines saw the new Democratic Party defeat Dr. Rolf Gonzalez United Labor Party, ending his 24-year reign as Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. After winning nine parliamentary seats in a close election, Dr. Goodwin Friday will become the seventh Prime Minister since independence in 1979 for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The result ends Gonzalez's unprecedented tenure in power, during which the United Labor Party ruled continuously since 2001. After more than two decades of United Labor Party control, voters appeared to want a new path and responded with St. Vincent and Grenadine's New Democratic Party's emphasis on the economy, job development, and crime. And here's our final note. The St. Lucia Labor Party has been re-elected, making it the first time since 2001 that a political party has won two general elections in a row on the island. Philip J. Pieri's victory as prime minister ends a 20-year pattern in which incumbents were always voted out after one term. The St. Lucian people have shown their confidence in Pierre's leadership and vision for the country's growth as seen by this win, which gave him 14 of 17 parliamentary seats. This podcast has been brought to you by Mystic by the Sea, offering a variety of jewelry, original art, and gifts on the waterfront inside Palm Passage, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Diamond Key Marina, Yosvendike, British Virgin Islands, home of Foxy's Taboo, offering daily lunch and dinner, and your getaway to the bubbly pool, a natural jacuzzi and hidden gem. To reserve moorings at Diamond Key, visit Botiball.com. Have news and information you'd like to share with us and news releases to news at pulse of the Caribbean.com. This has been your Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup, episode one, for the week of November 24th. Here's a special greeting going out to our listeners in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Turk and Caicos Islands, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Germany, and South Africa. Thanks for listening and do spread the word and share our podcast with others across the region and the diaspora. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook. I'm Keisha Blyden. See you next time.

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For more Caribbean news stories and information, visit us online at pulsofthecaribbean.com. If you found value in this podcast, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. And thank you in advance for choosing Pulse of the Caribbean Caribbean News Roundup as your source for Caribbean centered news.