Antigua and Barbuda

The Antigua and Barbuda government says it has hired a United States-based legal firm to defend the country in a legal battle taking place in Florida where the attorneys of a Russian woman have sought permission to issue subpoenas to access the records of Prime Minister Gaston Browne and other officials involved in the sale of a mega-yacht that her father had abandoned.

The mega-yacht, abandoned by Russian businessman Andrey Guryev, is being sought by his daughter, who claims she is the rightful owner. The government has confirmed that it sold the yacht last year.

Earlier this month, her attorneys were told to notify Prime Minister Gaston Browne and others before serving subpoenas on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the US-based Clearing House Payments Co.

The attorneys for Guryeva-Motlokhov alleged in a March 11 filing in federal court that Browne’s administration had not released documents related to the US$40 million sale of the Alfa Nero.

The government has since announced that it has made available US$35,000 to the US-based law firm, which it did not name, which will represent the interests of Antigua and Barbuda.

CARICOM

Chair of the Caribbean community, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, says the heads of state and government of CARICOM have been working to diversify themselves away from their dependence on imports, which are reliant on Caribbean economies.

Her statement responded to US President Donald Trump’s announced 10-50% import taxes on goods from every country except Russia.

Mottley said CARICOM heads had already successfully diversified, especially in agriculture. She said they were working and would continue to work to become more self-sufficient, but there was a long way to go.

She noted that many commodities found in supermarkets, malls, hardware, and electronic stores were purchased directly from the US or passed through the US on their way to the Caribbean.

She said Caribbean economies were not very large and had always been at the whims of global prices.

“If Europe and China and the US and Canada and Mexico are all putting tariffs on each other, that is going to disrupt supply chains, that is going to raise the cost of producing everything, from the food you eat, to the clothes on your back, to the phone in your pocket, to the car you drive down the road, to the spare parts that you need for critical infrastructure. That means higher prices for all of us to pay, and sadly, this will impact all of us, regardless of what any of our Caribbean governments will do.”

She believed the effect would spill over into the tourism sector as the tariff war would affect people’s ability to travel. She called on the private and tourism sectors to work with governments to create an immediate tourism strategy to maintain regional market share numbers.

Mottley said she was not confident that cooler heads prevail worldwide and made several recommendations.

Dominica

High Court Judge Justice Colin Williams ordered the state to pay EC$10,500 to a former opposition legislator after he had been falsely imprisoned in August 2020.

Justice Williams said that the Office of the Attorney General, one of three defendants in the case, must pay Daniel Lugay EC$5,500 in damages. On Aug. 15, 2020, Lugay was detained outside the residence of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.

In addition, the state has also been ordered to pay EC$5,000 in costs, “being the figure agreed to prior to the commencement of this matter.”

“The total sum of EC$10,500 shall be paid by the First Defendant by April 30, 2025,” Justice Williams said in his ruling.

Lugay claimed he was assaulted and battered, wrongfully arrested, and falsely imprisoned or kidnapped by police officers on Aug. 15, 2020.

He sought remedies from the State, particularly damages for what he believed were torts committed by agents of the State.

At the time of the incident. Lugay was the elected representative for the Roseau North constituency in the Parliament and was a member of the opposition United Workers Party (UWP).

He was arrested outside of the residence of Prime Minister Skerrit at Morne Daniel on the outskirts of the capital by then Inspector of Police, Michael Sebastien, the second defendant, who is now assistant superintendent of police.

Guyana

China’s government bristled at the strengthening of ties between Guyana and the United States in online comments a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the South American country.

The Chinese comments came after Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said his oil-rich nation would give the US preferential treatment over other countries after it pledged to respond forcefully if neighboring Venezuela tries to annex Guyanese territory as it has threatened.

The Chinese Embassy in Guyana posted on Facebook that China has always “put China-Guyana Friendship first.”

“We honor our commitment with concrete actions. As a matter of fact, China has participated fully in the biggest economic and social transformation in the history of Guyana. Facts and figures speak louder than anything else,” the embassy said.

China cited its US$1.4 billion in annual trade with Guyana and a string of major infrastructure projects that Chinese firms are undertaking, some secured by Chinese loans. These include the new Demerara Harbor Bridge, China-Guyana Joe Vieria Park, six regional hospitals, and the East Coast Demerara road project.

Haiti

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aiméis urging Haitians to commit to a “stronger constitution” as efforts continue to restore security and political stability to the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country,

In a message marking the 38th anniversary of the 1987 constitution, Fils-Aimé said that for the past 38 years, the 1987 constitution “has been the foundation of our democracy, guaranteeing our freedoms and rights.

But he acknowledged that ” in the face of repeated crises, our nation must evolve.

“It is time to write a new page in our history. Young people, women, citizens, let us commit to a stronger Constitution, better suited to the challenges of today and tomorrow,” he said.

The 1987 Haitian constitution, adopted after the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship, established a semi-presidential republic with a dual executive president and prime minister, a bicameral legislature, and a judicial system, aiming to establish a democratic and social republic.

The most popular provision of the 1987 Constitution was Article 291, which bars supporters of the previous dictatorship regime from holding any public office.

Haitian officials have been seeking an overhaul of the country based on an essential constitutional reform designed to modernize state structures, strengthen the separation of powers, and guarantee better representation of citizens.

The constitutional referendum, scheduled for May 2025, is a decisive step toward adapting the 1987 Constitution to contemporary realities and strengthening citizens’ confidence in the democratic system. Furthermore, organizing inclusive and credible general elections in November 2025 remains essential for restoring democratic legitimacy and consolidating political stability.

Jamaica

The Jamaica government has extended to May 31 this year the Special Arrears Settlement Program, which provides relief for taxpayers of any unpaid interest, penalty, and surcharges on taxes.

“We are pleased to announce that as of March 31, 2025, our assessment showed that the program has been very successful in collecting over J$10.5 billion (One Jamaica dollar equals US$0.008 cents), surpassing the J$10-billion target and thereby indicating a willingness by taxpayers to pay their principal taxes and to benefit from the waivers of interest, penalty, and surcharge,” Finance and the Public Service Minister, Fayval Williams, told Parliament.

The government said that the measure will include the Education Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Individual Income Tax, pay-as-you-earn (PAYE), Special Consumption Tax, General Consumption Tax, Asset Tax, and Partnership Income Tax.

Williams said the J$10.5-billion payment of principal taxes would result in approximately J$12 billion of interest, principal, and surcharge waivers.

“While there is still a very large amount of principal, interest, penalty, and surcharge arrears on the accounts, the Special Arrears Settlement Program has been an effective way to reduce the stock of debt on the books of Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ),” she said.

Since the program began in January 2025, more than J$615 million in interest, penalty, and surcharge has been removed from the system, just a fraction of the amount to be removed based on principal payments.

The minister said the TAJ’s system is being configured to automatically remove the qualifying interest, penalty, and charge by the end of April 30, 2025.

The Special Arrears Settlement Program was implemented to encourage taxpayers to pay their principal amounts by the March 31, 2025, deadline.

Compiled by Devika Ragoonanan