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The leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have once again rallied around Cuba, this time with an explicit call for "collective action" in response to the intensified pressure from the United States on the island.
The statement was made this Tuesday during the opening of the fiftieth annual conference of the bloc, held in Saint Kitts and Nevis, in a context marked by the Cuban energy crisis and the impending visit of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A regional call in response to the Cuban crisis
"We must address the situation in Cuba with clarity and courage. Cuba is our Caribbean neighbor. Its doctors and teachers have served throughout our region. We must be clear that a prolonged crisis in Cuba will impact migration, security, and economic stability across the Caribbean region," stated Jamaica's Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, during his speech.
Holness, who held the rotating presidency of CARICOM in 2025, urged member states to “consider this matter carefully and take collective action” regarding Cuba.
The leader also emphasized that Jamaica is "firmly in favor of democracy, human rights, political accountability, and an economy based on an open market."
And he added: “we do not believe that long-term stability can exist where economic freedom is restricted and political participation is limited.”
Their words reflect the tension running through the regional debate: on one side, the support for Cuba in the face of Washington's hardening; on the other, the implicit recognition that the Cuban political and economic model carries structural limitations that also contribute to the current crisis.
The "oil siege" and its effects
U.S. pressure has intensified following the threat to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to Havana.
That warning has worsened the already critical energy situation on the island, which is facing prolonged blackouts, fuel shortages, and a paralyzed economy after more than six years of ongoing crisis.
Holness stated that Jamaica supports "constructive dialogue between Cuba and the United States with goals of de-escalation, reform, and stability."
In his view, "the geopolitical environment is changing, and CARICOM can play a constructive role, not as an ideological bloc, but as a community of democratic states offering cooperation, economic reform, and social development."
The approach aims for a delicate balance: to prevent the Cuban crisis from resulting in increased migration flows and regional destabilization, without taking a confrontational stance against Washington.
"Design support mechanisms"
The current sitting president of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Terrance Drew, urged member countries to join forces in "designing the necessary mechanisms to assist the people of Cuba at this particular moment," emphasizing that the community can offer help "directly and serve as a forum for discussion."
In similar terms, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Godwin Friday, advocated for promoting "peace and security in Haiti and throughout the region, addressing the humanitarian crisis affecting Cuba."
The Secretary-General of CARICOM, Carla Barnett, emphasized that the organization must "go beyond words and take action for a sustainable and vibrant CARICOM," recalling how regional concern for Haiti transformed "a regional issue into a global priority."
Haiti and Cuba: two crises on the agenda
The conference also focused on Haiti, whose Prime Minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, is participating in the meeting and will hold bilateral discussions with Caribbean leaders and with Rubio "in order to strengthen friendship, cooperation, and solidarity between Haiti and the CARICOM member states."
Holness emphasized that CARICOM "plays a critical role in supporting the political, humanitarian, and security pillars of Haiti's recovery."
He also urged the 15 member states to stay united in the face of climate change and natural disasters such as Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica as a Category 5 in 2025, and to prepare for the technological challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence.
The visit of Marco Rubio
The presence of Marco Rubio adds a high-voltage political component to the meeting.
The Secretary of State will travel to Saint Kitts and Nevis on February 25 to meet with Caribbean leaders and address strategic challenges related to security, illegal immigration, drug trafficking, illicit trade, the economy, and climate resilience.
Rubio announced that he will reaffirm the United States' commitment to collaborate with the member states of CARICOM.
However, their visit coincides with a time when Washington is tightening its policy towards Havana, particularly in the energy sector, which puts Caribbean governments in an uncomfortable position between economic dependence on the United States and historical solidarity with Cuba.
Between solidarity and contradictions
The members of CARICOM - Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago - share the concern that a further collapse in Cuba may have direct effects on the region.
Nevertheless, the speeches of several leaders also suggest that the Cuban crisis cannot be analyzed solely through the lens of the embargo or U.S. pressure.
The references to "economic freedom," "political participation," and the need for "reform" suggest that, even among its Caribbean allies, there is an awareness that the island's centralized and restrictive model is part of the problem.
While CARICOM debates how to "take collective action," the Cuban population continues to face power outages, food shortages, and unprecedented mass emigration.
The challenge for the region will be to determine whether its support translates into tangible assistance for the Cuban people or if it ultimately dissipates into diplomatic statements that make little difference to the reality within the island.
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