US-CARIBBEAN RELATIONS UNDER OBAMA

Feb 04, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States was welcomed in the Caribbean with enthusiasm. Like most people in the Caribbean, he is black and is the first African-American president of the US.
The leaders of the Caribbean were hopeful that because of his race and that the Caribbean is in the backyard of the United States, relations with the United States will improve. They were right.
Indeed, President Obama made things better for the region during his eight years in office in spite of the fact that world conditions were not always kind to his Administration.
It had to contend with conflicts in the Middle East and problems in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, refugees and terrorist groups. Some claimed that his global agenda was overly ambitious, others felt that it was not tough enough to deal with the challenges in the world.
Upon taking office in 2008, President Obama embraced the view that a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Caribbean Basin is in the interest of both the United States, which views the region as its Third Border, and the Caribbean for whom the US is a vitally important economic and security partner.
With this in mind, he embarked on several development projects to develop and improve US relations and influence in the region. He revived the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act/Caribbean Basin Initiative which was implemented in 1983 by the Reagan Administration to improve trade and development in the area.
In April 2015, the Obama administration launched the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative (CESI) to boost energy security and sustainable economic growth in the region. The CESI attracted investments from several energy technology companies.
The Obama administration also implemented the Caribbean Green Energy Project and committed US$20 million to finance the development of solar energy facilities in the region. It pioneered the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative which granted hundreds of scholarships to youths from the Caribbean to study in the United States. It is an entrepreneurship programme intended for the youths to return and establish small businesses in their respective countries.
At the sixth Summit of the Americas held in Florida in 2012, President Obama launched the Small Business Network of the Americas to promote and support job creation in small and medium sized countries in the region.
The Obama administration did not stop there. It committed over US$400 million to aid in the fight against drug trafficking in the Caribbean, provide training to law enforcement officers and allowed thousands of youths from the region to participate in crime-prevention programmes. President Obama’s greatest achievement was the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba, which led to the re-opening of the American embassy in Havana and the rescinding of Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terror.
It is fair to say that President Obama’s efforts to strengthen US-Caribbean relations have borne fruit. However, there has been some disappointment which may hurt the Caribbean or obstructed its progress.
The Administration is dissatisfied with the region’s intolerance of homosexuality. Its gay Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, James Brewster, who is married to a man, has made it clear that the countries of the Caribbean must have tolerance of, and respect for gays, lesbians and marginalized groups and an appreciation for diversity.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing President Obama has done to the Caribbean is the deportation of a record number of Caribbean nationals from the United States. This has had a deleterious effect on the Caribbean, whose fragile economies and poor infrastructures cannot absorb a single other mouth to feed.
However, one of President Obama’s last acts before demitting office was the signing of the United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act, which aimed at strengthening relations between the US and the Caribbean on energy and security.
Ultimately, history will be kinder to President Obama for his treatment of the Caribbean than it has been to most of his predecessors. We do not expect President Donald Trump toake any changes to US-Caribbean relations.

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