United States and China, implications for the Caribbean and the Americas Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (27 January 2021) — As the Biden Administration extricate the US from Donald Trump’s discordant China ‘policy’, a new paradigm in US-China relations emerges; grounded in diplomatic statecraft and not in confrontation. The details of President Joseph Biden Administration’s China policy are yet to be spelled out in full details, but early indications are the US will work in partnership...
US draws anti-China line in the sands of Jamaica Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (16 February 2020) — China’s rapid economic and geopolitical march through Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been particularly problematic for the US. The countries of the hemisphere are in America’s geographic backyard, and any increase in influence by China, or by any major economic or military global competitor in the region is considered to be a threat to US national security. President Donald...
Trump Visa Sanctions and China Economic Engagment Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (06 November 2019) — The most recent denial of U.S. visas to two well-placed Jamaican politicians is not an aberration or a decision isolated from geopolitical issues being pursued by the Trump administration. Speculation is rife as to why these two individuals were targeted. At first glance, these visa denials could be interpreted as linked to ties with Cuba and Venezuela, or, while for some, imagination may run...
Who’s afraid of Trump’s China Policy in Latin America and Caribbean? Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (23 Dec. 2018) — I pose this question to the governments of sovereign countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC): Who’s afraid of Trump’s China Policy? The Trump Administration is determined, working overtly and behind the scenes, to blunt China’s economic and political expansionism in the hemisphere. Curbing China in all regions of the world is a policy of the Trump...
Collateral Damage from Trump’s Actions Destabilize Caribbean Countries Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (13 May 2018) –In just under 16 months of President Donald Trump’s administration, actions taken by the American president are sending shock waves across the Caribbean and the world. Unintended consequences – collateral damage – from U.S. actions threaten to destabilize the fragile economies and security of Caribbean countries. The Trump storm is creating new dynamics in geopolitical...
Setting the Stage for U.S. Geostrategic Agenda Ambassador Curtis A. Ward United States president Donald Trump faces a plethora of geopolitical and geosecurity issues with a new and untested foreign policy team – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser, Ambassador John Bolton. Both share common cause with President Trump on limiting the use of diplomacy in settling world affairs. They project the use of military power as a means to advance U.S. interests abroad. It is...
United States, North Korea, and Russia – Putin the Common Denominator Ambassador Curtis A. Ward There is a common element in United States-North Korea relations that is being overlooked. Sometimes, finding answers to otherwise puzzling questions evades us unless we broaden the scope of our thinking – outside of the box. What appears far-fetched may not be so improbable after all. New developments in U.S.-North Korea relations suggest the possibility that Russian president Vladimir Putin may...
Tweet for Tat and Tat for Tweet – Donald Trump v. Kim Jong-un Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (25 Sept. 2017) — If only U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean President Kim Jong-un could contain their bellicose rhetoric and name calling, the world might remain safe. But, chances are, name calling will morph into dangerous actions on either or both sides. In my view, in the same way old time schoolyard bullying generally ends in fisticuffs, Trump’s tweets and Kim’s tats could...
U.S. and China faceoff on North Korean Sanctions Ambassador Curtis A. War (25 Aug. 2017) — The cooperative relationship between the U.S. and China on North Korean sanctions got off to a good start in the United Nations Security Council. But, before the ink dried on resolution 2371 (2017), the relationship took a body blow from the bellicose rhetoric which flowed between Washington and Pyongyang. China cautioned President Trump not to travel that road and the U.S. president pulled back...
