Commencing today, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be in the Caribbean Region on a three-nation tour – Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname to hold discussions with regional leaders on a number of issues among them crime and security, energy security and Haiti.
With Guyana poised to become the largest per capita oil producer in the world this year with expectations to surpass Qatar and Kuwait, the security of Guyana is important to the US, says Mauricio Claver-Carone, US Special Envoy for Latin America.
Mr. Claver-Carone, speaking at a briefing on Tuesday, “the security of Guyana is a key priority for us in the same way that we have been working with countries in the Gulf states to ensure the security cooperation from the regional threats there, Iran, et cetera, we want to work with Guyana in order to ensure the security cooperation there and its guarantees on its security”.
According to Mr. Claver-Carone said the US has been paying attention to the threats from Venezuela and has seen the approaches towards Exxon facilities.
“Obviously, that’s unacceptable and we want to work together to ensure binding – and find an agreement towards binding security cooperation. That’s a win-win for both Guyana and the United States, and I think that’s going to be a big part of the Secretary’s conversations while he’s there”.
US Special Envoy for Latin America, said the US sees Guyana’s oil development as a major opportunity and will support its progress without penalizing it for not prioritizing renewables. The current US administration he said views renewables as complementary rather than a substitute, adding that “we want to support Guyana in this development but protect it also from the threats being posed”.
The tour starts in Jamaica where discussions will be held with Prime Minister Andrew Holness, followed by bilateral meetings with Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti in Jamaica. The Caribbean tour ends in Suriname.