News Americas, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, WEDS, MAR. 20, 2019: Five Caribbean leaders are set to meet with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago this Friday, Mar. 22, 2019. It will be the first meeting with the US President and Caribbean leaders since he took office.
The meeting is set to feature Bahamas Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Michael Holness, Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse, President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina and Saint Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet, according to The White House to reaffirm the White House’s “strong friendship with and commitment to these countries, and signal the importance of the Caribbean to the hemisphere.”
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says Trump will use the meeting at his private resort to thank the leaders for their support for peace and democracy in Venezuela.
Trump is also set to discuss potential opportunities for energy investment and Sanders says the United States remains “a good friend to the Caribbean and seeks to build on a proud legacy as the region’s partner of choice.”
The meeting comes on the heels of a visit to the White House by Brazil’s President Jair Bolsanaro on Tuesday, where Trump said the US can be “a lot tougher” with sanctions on Venezuela, while adding that “all options are on the table” as a response to the Maduro regime.
Most of the Caribbean nations have been allies of Venezuela and benefited from the country’s PetroCaribe agreement and energy support.
The meeting also comes amid a rise in deportation of immigrants, including from the Caribbean, and the termination of TPS for Haitian immigrants and the DREAM ACT which also benefits Caribbean youth.
