Cuba and CariCom

Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar just-completed visit to Cuba underscored the increasingly closer relations being forged between the Anglo-phone Caribbean and Cuba, the largest and most populated Caribbean island. Their history of being colonies of competing European Empires conspired to keep them apart, since the aforementioned empires insisted that all relations between them had to flow through the European metropoles.
When Fidel Castro seized control of Cuba from the US-supported dictator Batista, none of the British colonies had become independent. With the exception of Cheddi Jagan of then British Guiana, all of the Premiers at the head of the four internal-governing territories (in addition, Jamaica, Barbados and T&T) gave him a wide berth. But Eric Williams, later PM of T&T, wearing his eminent historian’s hat, bookended his magisterial, “The History of the Caribbean 1492-1969” as “From Columbus to Castro”. It was an acknowledgement of the seminal role the Cuban Revolution was to have on the rest of the Caribbean.
Jagan’s flirtation with the Cuban regime while still under colonial “tutorship”, cost him the opportunity to lead his country to independence in 1962 along with Jamaica and T&T. Instead he was forced out of office after violent CIA fostered ethnic riots. Ten years later all the independent ex-British countries- Guyana, T&T, Barbados and Jamaica, did in fact give diplomatic recognition to Cuba.
On December 8, 2002, on the 30th anniversary of that recognition, the first Caricom-Cuba Summit was held in Havana, Cuba, leading to the adoption of the Havana Declaration. It was decided to commemorate December 8 annually as Cuba-Caricom Day, and to establish a summit every three years on that date. Before that declaration, the Caricom countries, which had expanded to include the ex-French colony of Haiti and the ex-Dutch colony of Suriname, had consistently voted in favour of the annual UN general Assembly’ resolution for the US to remove its embargo on trading with Cuba.
Cuba had consistently cooperated with the members of CariCom and without fail responded very generously to any emergencies such as hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes that plague the region – in spite of its strained circumstances. In addition it provided a significant number of doctors to fill the gaps in the health services of the poorer countries such as Guyana. In the 2005 summit, the joint declaration reflected the new realities:
“(We) STRESS our recognition of the Republic of Cuba as an integral part of our vibrant and diverse Caribbean Region, and as a valuable member of the family of the Americas and the international community; (and) THEREFORE STRONGLY CONDEMN the unilateral and extraterritorial application of coercive laws and measures contrary to international law, the United Nations Charter and to the principles of free navigation and trade in the world, and URGE the Government of the United States of America to heed the overwhelming call of the members of the United Nations and to lift with immediate effect the unjust economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against the Republic of Cuba and cease the application of measures adopted as of 6 May 2004 to reinforce that policy.”
But the US was not moved. Fidel Castro had visited Trinidad and Tobago in 1995, when he attended a conference of the Association of Caribbean States, which was held at the Hilton. In 1996, however, the US passed the Helms-Burton law which tightened the sanctions against Cuba. It expanded the sanctions by prohibiting a number of situations concerning Cuba, that could involve third countries. In December 2011, the 4th Cuba-Caricom Summit had been scheduled for the T&T Hilton – owned by the government of T&T but under licence from the US Hilton Corporation. The US government refused permission and the venue of the Summit had to be shifted.
The newly elected President  Raamotar had been  unable to attend that Summit and maybe his visit was intended to signify solidarity for the beleaguered Cuban state.