Rubio meets Caribbean leaders amid rising concerns over Cuba’s future
Newsy
Caribbean leaders at CARICOM raise alarms over Cuba’s humanitarian crisis, urging U.S.–Cuba dialogue to ease regional instability.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio flies into the Caribbean country of St. Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday for talks with regional leaders who, like others around the world, are unsettled and uncertain about Trump administration policies.
After President Donald Trump ordered a military operation last month to remove and arrest Venezuela's then-leader, Nicolás Maduro, stepped up aggressive tactics to combat alleged drug smuggling and turned up pressure on Cuba, Rubio will attend a summit of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM.
During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Trump called Maduro’s capture “an absolutely colossal victory for the security of the United States. And it also opens up a bright new beginning for the people of Venezuela.”
Leaders from the 15-nation bloc are gathering to debate pressing issues in a region that Trump has targeted for a 21st century incarnation of the Monroe Doctrine meant to ensure U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
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