Trump’s security assistance cuts and Pompeo’s Jamaica promises diverge Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (25 February 2020) — On the 10th anniversary of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), former president Barack Obama’s signature security assistance partnership with the Caribbean, president Donald Trump’s Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) budget cut proposal undermines the bold promises made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his recent visit to Jamaica. Even as Pompeo was in...
Trump’s Preference for Use of Military Intervention Subverts Diplomacy and Threatens Venezuela Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (08 July 2018) — The recent baring of a not so unexpected truth by media sources that the U.S. president gave serious thought in August 2017 to invading Venezuela early in his presidency is further confirmation that President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is defined more by the reckless use of U.S. military power rather than utilizing diplomacy to resolve...
State Department Budget Cuts Deeply into Caribbean Programs Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (08 November 2017) — Over the past few months I have been raising alarm concerning the possible impact president Donald Trump’s budget cuts on the U.S. State Department were expected to have on USAID assistance programs and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). Now that the FY 2018 Budget is advancing in the U.S. Congress, Caribbean diplomatic efforts and Caribbean Diaspora political action...
Are Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters a Threat to Caribbean Security? Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (29 October 2017) — In previous writings, including in The Ward Post, and presentations I have made in a number of fora in the past year, I raised the possibility of returning foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) whose origins are the Caribbean posing risks and dangers to the region. It’s time for Caribbean governments to pay attention and coordinate plans to deal with this imminent danger...
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke Urges Caribbean Community to Have a Voice in Washington Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (18 Oct. 2017) — In a wide ranging Keynote Address to the Caribbean-American Political Action Committee (C-PAC) 12th Annual Patrons Luncheon in Silver Spring, Maryland on October 14, 2017, addressing issues from the response to the devastation left by hurricanes in the Caribbean to President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant and racist policies, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke...
Implementing the U.S.-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (21 July 2017) — As pointed out by Representative Eliot L. Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, in his opening remarks at the Committee’s hearing on implementation of the U.S.-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016 – Public Law No: 114-291 (the Act) on July 19, 2017, having received the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in the Caribbean (the Strategy) report submitted...
Human Trafficking Challenges Caribbean Capacities Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (23 June 2017) — On June 27, the U.S. Department of State will issue its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. According to the Department of State, “The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is also the world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts and...
Caribbean Policy in the Trump Era: Forum on Strategic Engagement Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (13 June 2017) — Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Chair of the Caribbean Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, on June 8, 2017, convened an open discussion on “U.S.–Caribbean relations in the era of President Donald Trump’s Administration.” Congresswoman Maxine Walters (D-CA) was co-convener of the discussions, which were also set in the context of The United...
Panel Discussion sponsored by Rep. Yvette Clarke and Rep. Maxine Waters Rayburn House Office Building, June 8, 2017. Presentation by Ambassador Curtis A. Ward, Caribbean Research & Policy Center Caribbean Security Integration, Threat of Transnational Crimes, and implications of Budget Cuts on Caribbean Security (13 June 2017) — I have been asked to share my perspectives on Caribbean security integration; the threat of transnational crimes to the region; threat of U.S. budget cuts on...
