By ANDRE BAGOO Saturday, April 18 2009

CARICOM leaders were last night due to act as virtual mediators between US President Barack Obama and Venzuelan President Hugo Chavez on the issue of Cuba, after Caricom leaders indicated they will not join Chavez in vetoing the Declaration of Port-of-Spain.

Speaking with reporters after a three-hour Caricom caucus meeting aboard the Caribbean Princess in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington said the Caricom leaders were to last night raise the issue of Cuba with Obama at a special meeting with him, mere hours after he landed in this country.

“We want to see improvement in the relation between Cuba and its allies to the north,” Carrington said. “We have had conversations with both sides and we really want to see a normalisation of the relationship including a lifting of the (US) embargo (on Cuba).”

Carrington revealed that Caricom would discuss, “the problem of normalisation of relations with Cuba” with Obama, in addition to issues related to, “trade, investment relations, security, problems of deportees (and) climate change.”

“All the heads intend to sign the declaration,” Carrington said. “We have heard of President Chavez’s position. We hope that may not be so, but all the heads will sign,” he added.

Also speaking with reporters following the caucus, current Caricom chairman — Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow — said Caricom developed a common strategy for its meeting with Obama which was due to take place after the summit’s opening ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Caricom’s stance came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed remarks by Cuban President Fidel Castro indicating he was open to talks with the US.

The ALBA nations include Cuba, Venezuela and Caricom nations Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines, which formally joined onto the groupings at a meeting of the ALBA leaders on Thursday.

In an interview with Newsday from the Hyatt Regency Hotel yesterday morning mere minutes before yesterday’s caucus, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said while Dominica would sign the declaration, he was not satisfied with its contents.

“The communique itself does not reflect the present reality we are facing...Fundamental issues that affect everyday citizens including the increase in the drug trade, criminal activity and violence are not addressed. One would have expected that the draft would have dealt with that in a more practical manner,” he said.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves yesterday told reporters he expected the issue of Cuba, which was discussed at the ALBA meeting on Thursday, to continue in the summit proceedings.

“The discussion of relations with Cuba came up at ALBA as expected and I expect that it will come up at this summit,” he said.

“The position of St Vincent is that Obama has indicated his good intentions.”