Tillerson’s Jamaica visit will divide CARICOM, Unless… Ambassador Curtis A. Ward While Secretary Rex Tillerson’s scheduled visit to Jamaica has been received with some level of scepticism, any visit by a U.S. Secretary of State to Jamaica should be welcome news. Ordinarily, such visits are expressions of good working relationships, and often used to strengthen ties even further. On the other hand, there are also visits by U.S. Secretaries of State which are triggered by disagreements on...
Conversation with Earl Jarrett – CEO of JN Group and Chair of Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference 2017 Ambassador Curtis A. Ward, Host – CaribNation TV (20 Sept. 2017) — In a wide-ranging conversation on the role and importance of the Jamaican Diaspora to Jamaica, Mr. Earl Jarrett, CEO of JN Group, who was chairman of the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference 2017, provided an approach which should find resonance with members of the Diaspora; and which offers specific ideas for the way...
P.J. Patterson, In His Own Words – Interview with CaribNation TV I sat down as CaribNation TV Host with the Most Honorable P. J. Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica at his New Kingston Office in Jamaica in July 2017 for a conversation which covered a broad range of issues. This conversation with the former Jamaican Prime Minister occured while the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference 2017 was underway at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, attended by over a thousand Jamaicans...
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...
Caribbean Response to COVID-19 Conversation Hosted by Ambassador Curtis Ward for CaribNation TV and The Ward Post Special Guests: Dr. Joy St. John, Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA); Dr. Douglas Slater, CARICOM Assistant Secretary General – Human and Social Development; Professor Dr. Clive Landis, Chairman, University of the West Indies COVID-19 Task Force This discussion explores the many important ways Caribbean regional institutions are...
Caribbean Diaspora aroused demonstrating discontent Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (04 December 2019) — Discontent within Caribbean diaspora communities is growing in intensity. To most governments in the region, peaceful demonstrations on the streets far removed from the homeland are viewed as non-threatening and inconsequential, thus easily ignored and dismissed. But they should take heed! What they see is only the tip of the iceberg. Traditionally, diaspora’s passionate patriotism has...
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...
Tillerson’s Jamaica visit will divide CARICOM, Unless… Ambassador Curtis A. Ward While Secretary Rex Tillerson’s scheduled visit to Jamaica has been received with some level of scepticism, any visit by a U.S. Secretary of State to Jamaica should be welcome news. Ordinarily, such visits are expressions of good working relationships, and often used to strengthen ties even further. On the other hand, there are also visits by U.S. Secretaries of State which are triggered by disagreements on...
Carnage in the streets and the government’s response Ambassador Curtis A Ward (05 July 2024) — It’s hard for me or any well-thinking Jamaican to believe the Minister of National Security or the Commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) that crime is under control, or that there is a reduction in crime. The often-repeated positive statements which border on self-praise about progress in dealing with crime belie the facts about the intractable crime problem facing the...
We are not at war, but we are not safe Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (10 March 2022) –– Speaking as a Jamaican, we are not at war with any country, and we don’t expect to be. We are at war with ourselves. This reality is lived my many Jamaicans in their daily experiences. The high levels of crime, particularly homicide, and the wanton use of guns, put every Jamaican at risk. Some, because of the neighborhoods they live in are most vulnerable and are at greatest risk. They do not have...
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...
Honoring our fallen heroes (07 January 2025) –This compelling story, “WAR HERO RESCUED After 107 years: Private Robert Theophilus Downer”, narrated with passion and compassion by Dr. Goulda Downer is not just about one forgotten Jamaican soldier. The resurrection of Robert Theophilus Downer, her great grandfather, whose ultimate sacrifice in the cause of freedom versus tyranny, forgotten and ignored for over a hundred years, calls upon Jamaicans and other Caribbean people, and the...
A clash of interests and ideology of a future Trump administration Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (03 Decenter 2024) — The Trump presidential campaign brought together a collection of individuals who saw an opportunity for power but their reasons for supporting Trump were at variance. They had different objectives for a future Trump administration. There were those driven by greed, wealth accumulation and power. They bought influence and used their wealth to significantly impact the outcome of...
Peace not Possible if Ukraine & Palestine are Occupied Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (08 November 2024) — There are few political leaders who are proponents of Ukraine ceding a part of its territory to Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Those who do are on the wrong side of settled international law and norms. This shattered peace in Europe was the direct result of Russian aggression, invasion, seizure and occupation of large swathes of Ukraine’s territory. Seizing another country’s...
Will Trump’s Administration reflect the Darkness of his Campaign? Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (08 November 2024) — We have been here before with Donald Trump’s victory in 2016. The chaos in the White House began the day he took the oath of office on January 20, 2017. His inauguration then marked the day when domestic and global uncertainty became a real challenge. The threats posed by Trump’s first presidency rattled the diplomatic community in the U.S. capital and in capitals...
End of a Campaign of Hope, Harris out and Trump in Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (07 November 2024) — Hand wringing and critical post-election analyses are the expected reaction to an unsuccessful election campaign. Most of the post-election analysts would have been among most who in the immediate pre-election period were saying Vice President Kamala Harris had ran a brilliant campaign and had done everything right. Now many have opposite views. Very few analysts and commentators were bold...
Trump & Project 2025, Our greatest threat yet Ambassador Curtis A. Ward 28 October 2024 — Early voting in the U.S. elections is well underway in many states but most Americans will vote on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Many critical issues are on the ballot, but democracy is paramount for the future of America and for liberal democracies around the world. The threat to democracy is a threat to the underlying guarantees of rights and freedoms — for the rule of law and the freedoms we...
