Once again, the U.S. is applying unrelenting pressure on some regional nations, apparently, to make them bend to its will and has ruled that citizens from four Caribbean nations, including three from the Eastern Caribbean, must lodge a bond of up to $20,000 when applying for tourist visas.
High officials like Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne and former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding say that a region that is among the friendliest to the U.S. globally is being unfairly punished by an insensitive administration in Washington for petty reasons.
Over the weekend, the State Department announced plans to make the visa bond program permanent and mandatory for three Caricom bloc nations — Antigua, Dominica, and Grenada — in addition to Cuba in the wider Caribbean.
Angered by the latest development, Browne fired off a letter to President Donald Trump asking for a review of the mandate. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a formal diplomatic note asking for an explanation about why Antigua and Barbuda had been included in the list of nations whose citizens must fork out up to $20,000 to obtain a limited B-1 or B-2 visa to the US.
“The government’s objective is not confrontation,” Browne said. “It is to ensure that decisions affecting the people of Antigua and Barbuda are based upon accurate information and upon the substantial steps our country has taken in close cooperation with the United States to address every legitimate concern that has been raised. We believe the time is now right for a review.”
The latest developments come as Antigua and the U.S. spar over the number of non-national deportees the U.S. wants to dump on the federation each month. The cabinet has made it clear it will accept no more than 10 individuals per year who are healthy; possess no criminal records; and whose boarding, lodging, and medical care are taken care of by a reluctant U.S. Washington, on the other hand, wants to send up to 120 deportees per year. Browne has said this number would amount to political suicide in a nation of merely 103,000 because the deportees would not only stand out among the population but could also pose a security threat.
In a separate weekend statement, Browne urged locals to stand strong against bullying and the unfair treatment by the U.S.
“Stand firm against the evil, discriminatory, and bullying practices of the powerful,” he said. “Do not fear. Do not despair. Soldier on in optimism for a brighter future. Do not worry, my dear people. Do not fear. We are covered by God’s almighty hand. The challenges that are meant to break us will certainly make us stronger.”
In this regard, he appeared to have the support of former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding. Speaking at a weekend function in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Golding contended that he understands why regional governments have been acting and responding to U.S. interaction with the Caribbean in a careful manner: They are being bullied by a superpower.
“When Caribbean governments adopt a measured, cautious approach to America’s bullying tactics, it is because they understand the pickle they are in,” Golding said. “Make a wrong move, defiantly defend the Cuban [medical] assistance programs and our partnership with China — they pay a price. They understand how careful they have to be when their hand is in the mouth of an angry lion. I cautiously cling to the hope that this will pass, that the hemisphere will once again be a neighborhood of peace; mutual understanding and respect; where true friendship prevails; where all of its people can pursue their own destiny with dignity and purpose; and where we can look upon America as a friend indeed.”
The bond mandate was first announced late last year, linked by American officials to discomfort with the sale of golden passports and local citizenship to foreigners with alleged dubious backgrounds and to the number of visa overstays from Antigua, Dominica, and Grenada. Officials in all three nations have baulked at such suggestions that these tiny nations with tiny populations can contribute to significant overstay rates, linking the bond issue to punishment for their reluctance to accept a large number of deportees and also their reluctance to back U.S. policies on Venezuela.
