The region consists of 13 island countries, from the Bahamas in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south; Belize, which is geographically located in Central America; and the two countries of Guyana and Suriname, situated on the north main coast of South America. Numerous countries in the region share a typical African ethnic and British colonial heritage, while Cuba and the Dominican Republic were Spanish nests, Haiti was French, and Suriname was Dutch. The dates of independence of these countries range from Haiti in 1804 to St. Kitts and Nevis in 1983. The biggest countries in terms of land location are Guyana and Suriname, while those with the biggest populations are Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.
Politically, all Caribbean countries, with the exception of communist Cuba, have actually elected democratic governments. Many of the previous British nests have parliamentary kinds of government, with the exception of Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Suriname, which are republics headed by presidents. In regards to regional combination, 14 of the area's independent countries come from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), with the exception of the Dominican Republic (which has observer status) and Cuba. CARICOM was formed in 1973 to spur local financial combination. Some critics argue that it has actually been slow to promote integration, compared to other local economic groupings, but progress has been made in approaching a single economic market and in developing a Caribbean Court of Justice.
The 6 OECS nations likewise share a common currency, the Eastern Caribbean dollar, with monetary policy handled by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. The Caribbean Advancement Bank (CDB), headquartered in Barbados, promotes economic advancement and regional integration. With the exception of Cuba and Haiti, routine elections have been the norm, and for the most part have actually been totally free and reasonable. In 2005, Dominica and Suriname held elections in May, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines held elections in December. Haiti was expected to hold elections in 2005, however significant issues and political instability led to those elections being delayed a number of times, till they were eventually hung on February 7, 2006.
Effective elections ultimately were hung on August 28, 2006, without the political violence that some observers had anticipated. Looking ahead, parliamentary elections are due in St. Lucia by December 2006, while elections in the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago are due in 2007. (See for a listing of leaders and elections for head of federal government.) Although many Caribbean nations have actually preserved long democratic traditions, they are not immune from terrorist and other threats to their political stability. In 1993, stability on St. Kitts was threatened following violent protests after disputed elections; order was restored with the assistance of security forces from surrounding states.
Earlier in the 1980s, the federal government of Eugenia Charles in Dominica was threatened by an unusual coup plot involving foreign mercenaries. And obviously, Grenada, under the socialist-oriented federal government of Maurice Bishop, experienced a break from the democratic norm after it presumed power in an almost bloodless coup in 1979 and installed a people's innovative federal government. After the violent overthrow and murder of Bishop in 1983, the United States intervened to bring back order and end the Cuban existence on the island. Lots of Caribbean countries experienced an economic downturn in 2001-2002 due to downturns in the tourist and agriculture sectors, although a lot of Caribbean economies have actually rebounded because 2003.
financial recession and slow healing. The banana and sugar sectors in the Eastern Caribbean were harmed by a tropical storm in 2002 and a dry spell in 2003. Both sectors deal with uncertain futures in light of the European Union's plan to phase out favored market access from former Caribbean nests for bananas by 2006 and for sugar by 2009. The Haitian economy experienced decrease beginning in 2001, with political instability worsening currently tough economic conditions in the hemisphere's poorest nation. The strongest performing economies recently have been those of the Dominican Republic, sustained by the clothing sector, and Trinidad and Tobago, with substantial energy resources.
In 2004 and 2005, the region's greatest financial entertainers balancing growth rates over 5% for those 2 years, were Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Those countries not faring well in 2004 due to the fact that of https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191125005568/en/Retired-Schoolteacher-3000-Freed-Timeshare-Debt-Wesley#.Xd0JqHAS1jd.linkedin ravaging cyclones and hurricanes included Haiti, with a 3. 5%% decrease in gdp (GDP), and Grenada, with a GDP decrease of 3%. For 2005, nevertheless, Grenada's economy rebounded with development over 5%, while Haiti's development was 1. 8%. In Guyana, financial growth has actually been stagnant or minimal over the past a number of years. In 2005, the economy decreased 3% because of high oil costs and floods, which early in the year seriously impacted agriculture and mining activities.
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However, some observers have actually also been worried about the area's high level of public financial obligation, with a number of Caribbean countries having financial obligation levels that exceed 100% of their GDP. U.S. interests in the Caribbean vary, and consist of financial, political, and security concerns. Throughout https://wesleyfinancialgroupscholarship.com/apply/ the Cold War, security issues tended to eclipse other policy interests. In the after-effects of the Cold War, other U.S. policy interests emerged from the shadow of the East-West dispute in the Caribbean that concentrated on concerns about the Soviet and Cuban hazard. U.S. policy top priorities moved from one emphasizing security concerns to a brand-new concentrate on strengthened financial relations through trade and More helpful hints financial investment.
interest in the Caribbean. The Administration explains the Caribbean as America's "third border," with events in the area having a direct influence on the homeland security of the United States. It explains Caribbean countries as "essential partners on security, trade, health, the environment, education, local democracy, and other hemispheric problems." The United States has close relations with most Caribbean countries, with the exception of Cuba under Fidel Castro. The U.S.-Caribbean relationship is defined by comprehensive financial linkages, cooperation on counter-narcotics efforts and security, and a considerable U.S. foreign support program supporting a variety of tasks to enhance democracy, promote economic development and advancement, ease poverty, and combat the AIDS epidemic in the area. Customizeds and Border Security of the Department of Homeland Security. The CSI program assists guarantee that high-risk containers are identified and inspected at foreign ports before they are placed on vessels for delivery to the United States. In September 2006, 3 Caribbean ports ended up being operational CSI ports: Caucedo, Dominican Republic; Kingston, Jamaica; and Freeport, Bahamas. Other Latin American ports in the CSI program are the Main American port of Puerto Cortes, Honduras, and the South American ports of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santos, Brazil. In the 108th Congress, a legal effort required extra foreign assistance in order to improve foreign port security worldwide, but no final action was finished before completion of the session.
2279 (Hollings), in September 2004, which would have supplied for the Administrator of the Maritime Administration, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to recognize foreign support programs that might facilitate implementation of port security antiterrorism steps in foreign countries. The act also would have required a report on the security of ports in the Caribbean Basin, consisting of an evaluation of the effectiveness of the steps utilized to improved security at such ports and an assessment of the resources and program modifications required to take full advantage of security at Caribbean Basin ports. In the 109th Congress, 2 costs would attend to foreign assistance programs for Caribbean Basin ports.
744 (Nelson, Costs), presented April 11, 2005, would develop a Caribbean Basin Port Support Program. Under the legislative effort, the Administrator of MARAD in the Department of Transport, in coordination with the Secretary of State, would recognize foreign assistance programs that might facilitate execution of port security antiterrorism procedures at Caribbean Basin ports. The Administrator and the Secretary would establish a program for such support in consultation with the Organization of American States. In addition, the Secretary of Homeland Security would be required to submit a report to Congress on status of port security in Caribbean Basin countries. S. 1052 (Stevens), the Transport Security Enhancement Act of 2005, consists of an arrangement (Section 504) that would develop a program to facilitate implementation of port security antiterrorism procedures in foreign countries, with particular focus on ports in the Caribbean Basin; this expense was presented May 17, 2005, and reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on February 27, 2006 (S.Rept.
2791 (Stevens), introduced May 11, 2006. Increasing criminal offense is a major security obstacle throughout the Caribbean. The murder rate in Jamaica continues to skyrocket, with 1,445 individuals killed in 2004 and more than 1,600 individuals in 2005. With rate of 60 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005, Jamaica had the highest murder rate worldwide. In late February 2006, Jamaicans were stunned over the brutal killings of 6 member of the family, consisting of 4 young children in the western part of the nation. High levels of violent criminal offense, including murder and kidnaping, also have actually pestered Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti. Even smaller sized Caribbean countries like St.
On April 22, 2006, Guyana's Farming minister, together with his two siblings and a guard, were shot and killed in an obvious break-in. Gangs associated with drug trafficking, extortion, and violence are accountable for much of the criminal offense. Some observers believe that bad guys deported from the United States have actually contributed to the area's surge in violent crime in the last few years, although some maintain that there is no recognized link. Jamaica has promoted the development of an international protocol regarding the deportation of criminals. A significant issue for Caribbean nationsthe majority of which are net energy importershas been the increasing rate of oil and the possible impact of such increasing rates on economic development and social stability.
Of these, just Trinidad and Tobago is a major oil and gas manufacturer, representing 60% of tested oil reserves and 91% of gas reserves in the region. The nation is likewise the largest provider of liquified gas (LNG) to the United States, representing 75% of all U.S. LNG imports. Apart from Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba likewise produces oil, but still imports a majority of its intake requires. Barbados likewise produces a percentage of oil, which is fine-tuned in Trinidad and Tobago, however it imports 90% of its oil intake needs. Venezuela is now providing oil to Caribbean countries on preferential terms in a brand-new program understood as Petro, Caribe, and there has been some U.S.
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Given that 1980, Caribbean countries have benefitted from preferential oil imports from Venezuela (and Mexico) under the San Jose Pact, and since 2001, Venezuela has provided extra support for Caribbean oil imports under the Caracas Energy Accord. Petro, Caribe, however, would go even more with the goal of putting in location a local supply, refining, and transport and storage network, and establishing a development fund for those countries taking part in the program. How to finance a franchise with no money. Under the program, Venezuela announced that it would supply 190,000 barrels daily of oil to the area, with countries paying market prices for 50% of the oil within 90 days, and the balance paid over 25 years at an annual rate of 2%.
To date, 14 Caribbean countries are signatories of Petro, Caribe. Barbados, which already gets affordable petroleum rates from Trinidad, has decreased to sign the arrangement, and Trinidad, which has its own significant energy resources, has actually declined to sign. (For additional details, see CRS Report RL33693, Latin America: Energy Supply, Political Advancements, and U.S. Policy Approaches, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]) The AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean, where infection rates are among the greatest outside of sub-Saharan Africa, has actually currently started to have unfavorable effects for financial and social development in the region. In 2005, an approximated 300,000 grownups and children in the Caribbean were reported to be dealing with HIV, with the epidemic declaring 24,000 lives during the year, making it the leading cause of death among grownups aged 15-44 years.