Mahogany CoConut Blog

One Caribbean Nation. US grants Trinidad permission to negotiate -Venezuela gas deal  TRINIDAD The US has granted Trinidad and Tobago permission to negotiate a gas deal with neighbouring Venezuela without facing any US sanctions, the Caribbean nation's attorney general said Thursday. The US Treasury Department granted an Office of Foreign Assets Control licence on Wednesday that allows parties to engage in a transaction that would otherwise be prohibited, according to the agency. With Venezuela hit by US sanctions, Trinidad and Tobago needed the licence to pursue the development of a gas field located in Venezuelan waters. The licence was granted following a request that Trinidad and Tobago made in May, according to Attorney General John Jeremie. "We have six months to negotiate, within parameters," Jeremie said at a news conference. "You have to hit targets, with respect to the US and their posture with Venezuela." He said US companies have certain commercial...

One Caribbean Nation. National deported by the US to Eswatini repatriated JAMAICA A Jamaican man who was among five migrants deported by the United States to Eswatini in Africa has been repatriated to his home country, Eswatini authorities and his lawyers said. Orville Etoria, 62, was held in a maximumsecurity prison in Eswatini for more than two months without charges or access to legal counsel, his lawyers said Tuesday. They accused the US of deporting him there unlawfully in mid-July. The lawyers had said US officials sent him to the southern African nation under the Trump administration's third-country deportation programme even though Jamaica was willing to take him back. They alleged Etoria and the fourother men were then repeatedly denied visits by a lawyer while they were held at the prison. Etoria's lawyers at the New York-based Legal Aid Society confirmed his repatriation, saying in a statement that he had been arbitrarily detained in Eswatini. The case was "a ...

One Caribbean Nation Barbados Today , Editorial Friday, September 19th., 2025 Why the Caribbean cannot ignore erased histori es and silenced voices in the US Freedom of speech, civil rights, and the dignity of Black lives are under siege—not only in the United States, but across the diaspora, with ripple effects already reaching the Caribbean. From freedom of speech to erasing our history, it's all in jeopardy. The First Amendment, long celebrated as a cornerstone of American democracy, is under strain. The consequences are not abstract. Jimmy Kimmel was suspended this week after remarks about the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, widely seen as an example of political pressure shaping entertainment. Stephen Colbert's late-night show was cancelled after sharp criticism of Donald Trump's political comeback, and CNN parted ways with Don Lemon and Brian Stelter, both outspoken critics of Trump's disinformation. Since 2021, at least 22 US states have passed laws ...

One CariOne bbean Nation. US attack in the Caribbean: Gunboat diplomacy’s bloody return The reports are worryingly scant, but it appears as if the United States carried out an extrajudicial killing masked as a unilateral military action, taken when no rules of engagement, declaration of war or due process can be discerned. In the social media era of the performative as message, the destruction of a fast boat carrying 11 people will be celebrated as a necessary effort by the United States to send an unmistakable message to Latin American drug cartels, notably the violent Tren de Aragua gang out of Venezuela—if this can be proved. But Trump himself ordered the "strike". "There was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people, and everybody fully understands that," Trump told journalists at the White House. "Obviously, they won't be doing it again. And I think a lot of other people won't be doing it again. When they watch that t...

One Caribbean Nation. ‘ NO SURPRISES’ CARICOM URGES US TO CONSULT REGION BEFORE MILITARY ACTION NEAR VENEZUELA By Emmanuel Joseph As tensions between the United States and Venezuela continued to escalate on Tuesday amid a significant US naval build-up in the southern Caribbean, Barbados and other CARICOM countries pressed Washington for assurances that any military action aimed at Venezuela will not threaten regional stability or occur without prior consultation and warning. While US officials say the deployment of warships targets threats from Latin American drug cartels—a core objective of President Donald Trump and part of a wider effort to stem migration and close the US southern border—CARICOM foreign ministers have written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio seeking discussions to ensure that any military operations do not extend to other Caribbean territories without notice and explanation. Barbados' Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds told Barbados TODAY: "We have at the ...

One Caribbean Nation Neutrality is T&T’s best defence in US-Venezuela standoff Yesterday 20250823 As tensions rise once more between the United States and Venezuela, T&T finds itself at the edge of a storm. Geography, history and circumstance have placed this country in a position not of its own making. Washington sharpens its rhetoric. Caracas defends its sovereignty. Energy diplomacy is wielded like a weapon. Soon, three US warships will be operating just off T&T’s shores. This is a stark reminder: this geopolitical rivalry is not distant—it is at our doorstep. For small nations such as ours, the temptation may be strong to lean toward one side or the other. But in this moment, neutrality is not weakness—it is wisdom. Venezuela is T&T’s closest neighbour, separated from our twin islands by only seven miles of water. Families, comerce, and history bind the two together. The United States is T&T’s largest trading partner. It is a critical source of investment, rem...