RTC Director

Top Democrats break with Obama over Castro visa issue

Florida’s top Congressional Democrats broke with President Barack Obama on Tuesday over his administration’s decision to issue Fidel Castro’s niece a visa to attend a conference this week in San Francisco.

The opposition of Sen. Bill Nelson and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz came just hours after Republicans had blasted away at the visa decision — while failing to acknowledge that Republican President George W. Bush’s administration had allowed Mariela Castro to visit the United States three times a decade ago.

The fact that Republicans had remained silent over Bush’s decision while criticizing Obama gave Wasserman Schultz a measure of political cover in breaking with Obama.

"The Bush Administration set a bad precedent by granting Mariela Castro a waiver in 2001 and 2002 as I believe that such visa requests should not be accepted because of the ongoing human rights abuses in Cuba," she said in a written statement to The Miami Herald. "While I respect my colleagues, it’s important to note they did not criticize President George W. Bush for granting Ms. Castro a waiver in 2002. Politics has no place when we are standing up for human rights."

Nelson was more terse and more concerned with the plight of a jailed American.

"Allowing Raul’s daughter to come to the U.S. when the regime still holds Alan Gross makes no sense," said Nelson, who faces a tough re-election campaign this fall.

Castro, a noted gay rights activist who heads a sex education center in Cuba, is the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro. She is scheduled to lead a panel on sexual diversity at the Latin American Studies Association conference in San Francisco this week. She is among more than 70 Cubans who applied for visas for the event; the State Department has denied about a half dozen of the requests.

Both Wasserman Schultz and Nelson had remained quiet on the visa controversy until asked this week by the Miami Herald.

Meanwhile, the Florida Democratic Party has been vigorously defending the Obama administration’s visa decision since last week. That’s when Cuban-American Republicans from Miami, including Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mario Diaz-Balart and David Rivera, began criticizing the administration’s move.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a vice-presidential shortlister for Republican Mitt Romney., said it was "shameful" to grant the visa. He described the Cuban president’s daughter as "an arm of his regime" who’s coming to the United States to "spread their anti-American propaganda."

Romney’s presidential campaign took advantage of the issue to slam Obama. "The United States should be standing up for freedom, not coddling the privileged children of communist dictators," Romney’s policy director, Lanhee Chen said late last week.

On Tuesday, Republicans blasted out press releases all but calling Obama a communist. "Obama Lays Welcome Mat for Communist at U.S. Front Door" said one press release from the Hispanic Leadership Network. "Obama Rolling out the Red Carpet for the Castro Family," one from the Republican National Committee screamed.

The political tempest comes at a time when the Republican Party are attacking Obama’s record at every turn to excite a crucial conservative voting bloc Romney in Florida: Cuban-Americans, who overwhelmingly vote Republican.

http://www.miamiherald.com

by RTC Director

CARICOM, Mexico to cement ties against common challenges

The second CARICOM/Mexico summit opened on Monday in Bridgetown, Barbados with acknowledgement of the need for a strengthened alliance against the common challenges of citizen security, transnational crime and sustainable human development.

Trade, investment, tourism and cooperation are expected to feature prominently over the two-day event but CARICOM leaders are also looking forward to a meaningful outcome on natural disaster risk reduction and the environment.

Under two existing programmes; the Meso-American Territorial Information System and the Meso-American Environmental Sustainability Strategy; experiences are to be shared on regional co-ordination system for natural disaster risk reduction and projects in the areas of bio-diversity and forestry, climate change, green growth and sustainable competitiveness.

Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar joined his other colleague Heads of State in CARICOM at the summit, looking forward most of all to an engagement with Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon on strengthening responses to challenges in the social, economic and political realm.

While accrediting the new Mexican Ambassador to Guyana Francisco Olguin on May 10, Ramotar conveyed the high value which the Guyana government believes the forum can engender with the challenges facing today’s world.

He said that in the current global environment, all countries have become forcibly aware of the need to work together for a common good and hailed the bilateral relations between the governments of Guyana and Mexico especially as it relates to advancing the political economic and social objective on regional and international issues.

CARICOM secretary-general, Irwin LaRocque, in his remarks at the opening of the summit on Monday, made reference to the support that Mexico rendered to Haiti, including the recent visit by Calderon as a symbol of the Latin American country’s deep commitment to the revival and reconstruction of the country.

Given that the CARICOM/Mexico summit took place days after the devastating earthquake in 2010, LaRocque said both sides assumed the commitment of creating new measures to alleviate, in the medium and long-term, the challenges that Haiti is facing.

The inaugural summit was held during “testing times” according to chairman of CARICOM and president of Suriname Desi Bouterse, who made reference to the recovery efforts by several member states from the global financial and economic crisis and the fact that discussions then were anchored around the need for a strategic partnership common to all states to address those challenges.

He noted regrettably, however, that the “stranglehold” of the crisis remains somewhat unabated and, as small vulnerable economies, countries are still seeking strategies to counteract the debilitating effects of the crisis.

“It is also fitting that our agenda will focus on some areas of mutual concern, including citizen security and transnational organized crime, issues which have had a harmful effect on our countries, destabilizing our societies, and hampering economic development,” Bouterse said.

Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart in his address said that at this unsure point in time of world affairs, the most significant input that Mexico can make to the cause of Caribbean development is that of advocacy because of its role as current chair of the G20.

“I must articulate here some of CARICOM’s critical concerns, which include: the slow process of reform of the multilateral institutions and the uneven results to date; the continued lack of representativeness and transparency of the G20 which, as the Commonwealth secretary general has recently said, may represent 90% of global GDP but certainly not 90% of the world’s countries; the worrying signs that we have moved from the rich man’s club of the G7 to the big man’s club of the G20, whose members are more united in telling non-G20 countries what they should do than in prescribing for those within their own fold,” Stuart said.

He also spoke of ‘constant tilting of playing fields and moving of goal-posts in the G20’s response towards Caribbean-based international financial centres, notwithstanding the fact that the bulk of proven money-laundering, inadequate regulation and tax avoidance has occurred in the financial centres of Europe and the United States of America.

The Barbadian prime minister highlighted the need to promote the supportive policies of the small vulnerable economies in the areas of financing for development, aid for trade, and addressing the issue of indebtedness; the need to reassert the grave threat posed by climate change.

Mexico holds the distinction as the first country to form a Joint Commission with CARICOM, to identify and promote economic, political and cultural co-operation initiatives.

The signing of a technical co-operation agreement in 1990 to promote transportation, language training, agriculture and agro-industrial development, maritime education, disaster preparedness and management, and climatology further cemented relations between the two.

As a result, partnerships were forged between the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and CENAPRED the Mexican disaster preparedness and management agency, and between the Caribbean Meteorological Institute (CMI) and, the Mexican Institute for Water Technology.

Financial services, security, health, energy and climate change were incorporated as the cooperation evolved.

Mexico is chair to the upcoming G-20 summit and the government has identified green growth, food security and infrastructure as the priorities.

(GINA)

by RTC Director

Collaborative effort needed to confront security threats, says Barbados PM

Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said there is a need for constant multilateral coordination among governments to confront the various security threats that would have a negative impact on the island's borders.

He made this call on Monday while addressing the opening ceremony of the 2nd CARICOM/Mexico Summit.

Emphasising that the issue of citizen security and transnational organised crime would be part of the high-level talks, the prime minister said it could not be addressed by unilateral or fragmented approaches.

Stuart said: "...We know well that successes in one geographical area may shift criminal activity elsewhere to areas perceived to be more vulnerable. Constant multilateral coordination and cooperation, and a high level of information exchange and shared experience, are therefore essential to face our common threat."

Apart from discussions on security issues, the prime minister said the summit would provide an opportunity for an exchange of views on the newly formed Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and its role in the context of regional and hemispheric affairs.

Stuart said the original idea was to create an inclusive space for high-level dialogue and policy coordination among all the developing countries of the hemisphere.

"Barbados supports the original concept because we believe, as do our CARICOM colleagues, that it is important for developing countries of the hemisphere to have our own unique space to discuss strategic issues affecting our vital development interests and to develop meaningful south-south cooperation among ourselves,” he said.

Notwithstanding CELAC's role, the prime minister warned that there would be no support for efforts to divert focus away from "these development objectives that would turn the new Community into an instrument of confrontation and attack against those hemispheric partners who are not among its membership".

"Barbados believes that if CELAC is to succeed, then it must concentrate on building positive relations that already exist among us. It must also be sensitive to the nuanced positions of the sub-regions from which it is formed," Stuart underlined.

In this regard, Stuart described CELAC as an important complement to, and not a substitute for the Organization of American States, including the Inter American Commission on Human Rights and the Democratic Charter.

(BGIS)

by RTC Director

Bahamas budget deficit estimated at $500 million

Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts revealed on Monday that the incoming Christie administration in The Bahamas has met a budget deficit of around $500 million, and said he would be ‘shocked’ if criminal charges are not brought after an investigation into the management of public funds by the previous government.

Asked about this figure on Monday, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Perry Christie told The Nassau Guardian he was not sure of the figure that his team had come up with as he was busy preparing the Speech from the Throne.

He suggested that The Guardian speak to Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis confirmed the figure when he spoke to The Nassau Guardian on Monday.

Davis blamed the Free National Movement (FNM) government’s “mismanagement” and “abuse” of the public purse.

Davis, who is the minister of works and urban development, also said the PLP administration has launched an investigation into the former government’s management of public funds and added that criminal charges may follow.

“Now that we’re in, and looking at what the true facts are, we are definitely approaching the $500 million deficit range,” he said after a swearing in ceremony for 10 senators.

“We are doing our investigations with a view to see if we ought to prosecute someone for the abuse that has taken place with the public purse.”

When asked who could face prosecution, Davis said, “Once we find where the trail ends and where the buck stops that will be the person.”

Davis added that the Christie administration will likely have to borrow a little over $500 million in the 2012/2013 fiscal year as a result of the previous administration’s spending and to make good on the new government’s pledges to the Bahamian people.

Roberts made the same declaration when he spoke to The Nassau Guardian after an appearance on the More 94.9 FM program “Real Talk Live” with Ortland Bodie, where he originally made the revelations.

The borrowing would add to the national debt, which is currently hovering at just over $4 billion.

Davis told The Guardian, “We will have to borrow that and borrow additional funds to be able to implement some of our initiatives and programs.”

He claimed the high deficit is the result of the Ingraham administration’s negligence and bad planning.

“The deficit, there is no doubt in my mind, is due to mismanagement, politics and priorities,” he said.

Roberts said that several programs launched by the FNM administration, such as Self Starter and Jump Start, were election ploys that went over budget.

“The budget on the jobs program was $25 million. I understand that will exceed or closely exceed $50 million,” he said.

“The Jump Start program has also gone through the roof, I’m advised. They spent more money than was budgeted.”

“The full details of it are all going to come out in due course. The way I understand some of those were implemented, my God, it will make all Bahamians sick to their stomach.

“Some people never even reported to work and were getting paid. Some people would go to work and sit around doing nothing. Some of those jobs were only given out a day before the election, some on the election [day].”

Davis could not confirm if these programs were indeed over budget, but said he too thinks they were election ploys.

Three weeks before the May 7 election, Christie, who at the time was leader of the opposition, said the PLP would likely have to borrow at least $300 million in order to finance the country’s capital expenditure commitments if it was elected to office.

Courtesy of the Nassau Guardian

by RTC Director

Jamaican Drug King Pin ‘Dudus’ Sentencing Hearing Begins

The sentencing hearing of alleged drug kingpin Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke began in the US District Court in New York.

Coke has pleaded guilty to racketeering, conspiracy and conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering in the United States.

He was originally facing drug related charges but he later entered into a plea agreement with the US government.

Coke is facing up to 23 years in prison, however, in a court filing in March prosecutors said they were would settle for an 18-year sentence.

At that time, Judge Robert Patterson upheld a request from Coke’s defence team for the prosecution to provide evidence of the atrocities it has accused Coke of committing.

Legal experts said this decision by the judge suggests he wanted to ensure that a decision to impose the maximum sentence would be just.

Last September, Coke wrote a seven-page letter to Judge Patterson accepting responsibility for his actions and asking the judge to sentence him below the guideline.

After a nine-month wrangling between the US and Jamaican governments, Coke was arrested in June 2010, following a major operation in May to execute a warrant on him.

More than 70 people were killed in the operation.

Jerome Reynolds, Gleaner Writer
Gojamaica.net

by RTC Director