NEWS – Local

President Dr. Irfaan Ali is among several CARICOM Heads of Government who arrived in Jamaica this morning as part of a high-level Goodwill Mission to assess the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. Jamaican Prime Minister and CARICOM Chair Andrew Holness welcomed the delegation, which includes the Prime Ministers of Barbados, Grenada, and Antigua and Barbuda, along with senior officials from CARICOM, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America, and other global partners.

The visit represents a powerful show of regional unity and international cooperation, as Caribbean leaders and development institutions coordinate support for Jamaica’s recovery and rebuilding efforts following the storm.

The opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is urging the Government to publish the full redevelopment plan for Tiger Bay before moving ahead with its proposal to transform the historic Georgetown community into the city’s first “model neighbourhood.”

In a statement, APNU Shadow Minister of Housing Sherod Duncan said the initiative, though welcome in principle, appears to lack transparency and has no allocation or project details in the 2025 National Budget. He argued that “major urban redevelopment cannot be sprung on residents without a single published document or line item,” warning that such opacity fuels uncertainty and mistrust among long-time residents. The opposition contends that Tiger Bay’s residents, many of whom lack formal land titles, need clear guarantees against displacement, eviction, or politically driven gentrification. Duncan called for the plan, budget, and procurement documents to be tabled in Parliament, along with records of community consultations.

APNU also criticized the Government’s broader development approach, comparing Tiger Bay’s rollout to the unpublished details surrounding Silica City, which it described as “big in speech but small in transparency.”

The party maintains that genuine transformation must include social and economic empowerment, not just infrastructure, and should prioritize youth training, domestic-violence prevention, and community policing.

“Tiger Bay deserves real answers, real protection, and real investment—not another grand announcement without a roadmap,” Duncan stated. “If it is to be a model neighbourhood, let it be a model for transparency and dignity.”

The 2024 Auditor General’s Report has exposed widespread financial irregularities and weak accountability across multiple government Ministries and Regional Administrations, revealing what it describes as billions in mismanagement and wastage of taxpayers’ funds.

According to the report, $1.011 billion in overpayments were made to contractors in a single year under 86 contracts worth $48.19 billion. Among the worst-affected agencies were the Office of the President, Office of the Prime Minister, and the Ministries of Agriculture, Public Works, Health, Education, and Local Government, along with the Guyana Police Force and Guyana Defence Force.

Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) also recorded an additional $109.99 million in overpayments. Auditors warn that because these were sample reviews, the true scale of financial irregularities could be even higher.

The report further highlights poor contract administration, weak internal controls, and a lack of compliance with financial laws. Of the 179 recommendations issued in the 2023 audit, only 27% were fully implemented, while nearly 20% were ignored entirely.

The opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is calling for forensic audits, public disclosure of recovery efforts, and stronger oversight of ministries repeatedly cited for audit breaches.

Analysts say the report paints a disturbing picture of fiscal indiscipline, warning that without accountability, the pattern of overpayments, missing funds, and expired drug purchases could continue unchecked.

“These are not bureaucratic errors — they are breaches of public trust,” APNU said in a statement. “Guyanese deserve better stewardship of their nation’s resources.”

The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has renewed concerns about what it calls the “destructive erosion” of transparency and accountability in Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF).

According to the opposition, amendments made by the current PPP/C government have dismantled key safeguards that were built into the original 2019 NRF Act, which was passed under the APNU+AFC administration.

APNU says the 2021 and 2024 amendments replaced independent oversight committees with politically appointed boards, increased withdrawal limits, and weakened parliamentary scrutiny — effectively turning the NRF into “a politically controlled pool of revenue.”

The party warns that these changes expose the Fund to corruption, mismanagement, and economic instability, urging the government to restore oversight and fiscal discipline to protect Guyana’s oil wealth for future generations.

“Guyana’s oil belongs to the people — not to any government,” APNU said in its statement.

NEWS – Regional

According to a recent report by the Jamaica Gleaner, Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, yesterday publicly called on the United States to settle its growing tensions with Venezuela “through diplomacy and dialogue,” asserting that the Caribbean should remain a “zone of peace.”

Browne’s remarks come amid escalating U.S. military presence around Venezuela in recent weeks as Washington signals it may take tougher action if diplomatic efforts fail. Browne wrote on his official Facebook page.

“We encourage President [Donald Trump] to resolve the differences between the U.S. and Venezuela through diplomacy and dialogue.

Let’s continue to preserve our hemisphere as a zone of peace.”

His statement aligns with the position issued by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which reaffirmed that the region should avoid being drawn into external conflicts and urged the U.S. to consult regional partners before any military action.

For Guyana, which shares a land border with Venezuela and has a keen strategic interest in Caribbean stability, Browne’s appeal underscores the delicate balance regional leaders must strike between diplomacy and national security.

According to Caribbean National Weekly, the government of Trinidad and Tobago welcomed the arrival of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit of the United States Marine Corps for a week-long joint training exercise with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF). The exercise aims to strengthen regional security through collaboration in fighting drug, gun, and human-trafficking networks.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad‑Bissessar described the deployment as proof of the “deep and enduring” security ties between the two nations, noting that U.S. involvement has led to measurable reductions in illegal trafficking into her country.

While officials insist the exercise is strictly focused on anti-trafficking efforts, the move triggered a diplomatic reaction from Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, who accused Trinidad and Tobago of colluding with the U.S. and suspended certain energy deals in protest.

NEWS – International

The U.S. government’s decision to designate Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) marks one of Washington’s most aggressive moves yet against the Maduro regime — and its impact will ripple far beyond Caracas.

For the Caribbean, this is not just a diplomatic headline — it’s a security alert. The designation opens the door for tighter U.S. surveillance, new sanctions, and increased regional military cooperation, particularly in countries like Guyana, Trinidad, and Suriname, where border vulnerabilities and narco-trafficking routes remain active. The move also places Caribbean governments in a delicate geopolitical bind — forcing them to balance ties with the United States against historic relationships with Venezuela.

Financial institutions will now face heightened scrutiny, as the U.S. Treasury moves to block any flow of funds linked to the Venezuelan state or its affiliates.

For Guyana, this shift cements its role as a strategic security partner to Washington. With tensions along the border still simmering, the message is clear: the Caribbean has become the new front line in the U.S.–Venezuela standoff.

The United States Department of State has officially announced its intention to designate Cartel de los Soles, a powerful Venezuelan criminal network, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), effective November 24, 2025.

The announcement was made by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stated that the group allegedly headed by Nicolás Maduro and senior members of his regime has deeply infiltrated Venezuela’s military, intelligence, and judiciary systems, facilitating widespread corruption and narco-trafficking operations.

According to the statement, Cartel de los Soles, along with allied groups such as Tren de Aragua and Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, is responsible for terrorist violence and drug trafficking across the Western Hemisphere, including the United States and Europe.

“Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela’s legitimate government,” the statement read. “The United States will continue using all available tools to protect national security interests and deny funding to narco-terrorists.” The move, made under Section 219 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, will enable Washington to impose tougher financial sanctions, freeze assets, and criminalize material support for the organization and its affiliates.

Analysts say the designation could escalate diplomatic tensions between Washington and Caracas, as it directly links the Venezuelan leadership to narco-terrorism activities — a charge the Maduro government has repeatedly denied. The Cartel de los Soles, long suspected of operating within Venezuela’s military ranks, has been accused of facilitating large-scale cocaine shipments and maintaining transnational alliances with other major criminal syndicates.