With the FIFA World Cup well underway, I found myself thinking back to the days of the Soca Warriors and Trinidad and Tobago’s appearance at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. This year, another Caribbean nation is making headlines. Curaçao has qualified for its first-ever World Cup, while Haiti has returned to football’s biggest stage…
Read More World Cup 2026: How Many CARICOM Countries Have Ever Made It?The U.S. State Department has introduced a 12-month pilot program requiring citizens of Malawi and Zambia to pay a refundable $15,000 bond when applying for B-1/B-2 (tourist or business) visas. The policy aims to deter visa overstays and targets countries with high overstay rates, weak vetting, or citizenship-by-investment programs without residency requirements. According to 2023…
Read More U.S. Visa Overstay Data: How the Caribbean Compares to Malawi and ZambiaOn April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a comprehensive tariff policy that includes a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from countries outside of Canada and Mexico, effective April 5, 2025. This move appears to be a part of a broader effort to address the U.S. trade deficit and promote domestic manufacturing. Additionally, targeted…
Read More U.S. Imports from the Caribbean in 2024: A Look at the Dollar Value of TradeAccuWeather predicts a turbulent Atlantic hurricane season in 2025, with 13 to 18 named storms expected, including 7-10 hurricanes and 3-5 major hurricanes. The season is expected to be similar to the devastating 2024 season. Key factors include warmer-than-average water temperatures in the Atlantic, Gulf, and Caribbean, which could lead to rapid intensification of storms.…
Read More 2025 Hurricane Season Predicted to Pack a PunchUnited on Crime In a recent show of regional solidarity, CARICOM leaders agreed to work together to combat crime, including an ambitious proposal to designate criminal gangs as terrorist organizations (see here, here, and here.) This move appears to signal a growing recognition of the urgent need to tackle escalating violence in the Caribbean through…
Read More CARICOM: United on Crime, But Fractured on Recent UN Ukraine Vote?