ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Antigua and Barbuda Foreign Affairs Minister, E.P. Chet Greene, says he believes the Caribbean will weather the current “storm” affecting the region.
“The Caribbean is caught in a storm not of its own making. The recent imposition of visa restrictions, talks of financial bonds for entry, the palpable military tensions in our waters, and the overt threats to the long-standing customs of free movement and trade have cast a shadow over our region,” Green wrote in an Op-Ed in the Wednesday edition of the Antigua and Barbuda Point Express online publication.
Greene said that a sense of “siege has taken hold, with the enduring Venezuelan-U.S crisis as its turbulent epicenter, disrupting the rhythm of our interconnected islands.
“Yet, history and the resilient spirit of the Caribbean itself suggest that this period of difficulty is an interlude, not a conclusion. A return to normalcy is not a distant hope but an inevitable reckoning.”
He said that the current pressures feel uniquely “punitive and disruptive” and that “visa restrictions adversely impact the vital threads of family, culture, and tourism that bind our archipelago together and link us to the world. Proposals for bonds commodify movement, placing a financial bar before the poor and the working class.”
In December last year, the Trump administration expanded travel restrictions to 20 more countries, including Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, which went into effect on January 1 this year.
Last week, the US State Department said Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica were the only two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries whose citizens will now have to post a bond of up to US$15,000 when applying for a visa to enter the North American country.
The US State Department said the measure comes into effect on January 21 this year, and the only other Caribbean country named is Cuba. The majority of countries that require citizens to post a bond are in Africa.
The Antigua and Barbuda Foreign Affairs Minister said that military posturing turns “our serene Caribbean Sea into a chessboard for external powers, jeopardizing both security and the delicate ecosystems that sustain us”.
He said these actions represent a profound rupture with the painstakingly built norms of regional cooperation and understanding.
“At the heart of this regional anxiety lies the protracted standoff between Venezuela and the United States. Its waves have lapped onto every shore, influencing diplomacy, affecting economies, and fueling uncertainty. It serves as the background noise that amplifies every other disruption.”
Earlier this month, the United States invaded Venezuela, removing its leader, Nicolas Maduro, from office, with President Trump later indicating that Washington will “run” the South American country for the foreseeable future.
Maduro and his wife have been detained and taken before a United States Federal court on illegal drug-related charges, even as the international community remains divided on the US military action in contradiction to international law.
Greene said the very extremity of the measures involving the Caribbean “contains the seeds of their own dissolution,” arguing “they are unsustainable for three fundamental reasons.
“First, they are economically self-defeating for those who impose them. The Caribbean is not merely a scenic escape; it is a crucial hub for trade, finance, and hemispheric stability. Prolonged restrictions stifle the very economic partnerships and entrepreneurial energy that benefit all parties. The global economy, still finding its footing, cannot long tolerate artificial barriers in such a strategic corridor.
“Second, they are politically untenable. The collective voice of CARICOM, though sometimes quiet and appearing dissonant, is diplomatically potent. The region’s moral authority, forged through a history of overcoming slavery, colonialism, and natural disasters, carries weight.”
Greene said that this unified resistance, combined with advocacy from diaspora communities and pragmatic actors within the imposing nations themselves, “will create irresistible pressure for a return to sensible and people-centric policy,” noting “the world’s customs are not so easily remade by force.
“Third and most critically, the Venezuelan-U.S crisis is reaching its own inflection point. Exhaustion with perpetual tension is a powerful force. Behind-the-scenes diplomacy, driven by regional leaders and international mediators, is slowly carving pathways to de-escalation.
“The global focus is shifting, and the cost of maintaining this confrontation is increasingly seen as a distraction from other pressing challenges of our hemisphere and of our world. A resolution, perhaps not a grand bargain but a stable modus vivendi, is on the horizon. When that pressure lifts, the secondary policies justified by it will crumble.”
Greene said that the Caribbean has weathered conquistadors, empires, hurricanes, and financial crashes.
“Our normalcy is not a passive state but an active achievement built on resilience, adaptation, and an unwavering commitment to community. The current troubles, severe as they are, will be no different.
“The bonds of family will prove stronger than visa stamps. The need for shared prosperity will dissolve financial barriers. The demand for peace will quiet the drums of war, and as the US and Venezuela inevitably step back from the brink, the region will exhale.
“This moment of friction will pass because it must. The essential character of the Caribbean, open, connected, and fiercely devoted to its own peace, will reassert itself. The storm clouds will break, and the familiar, blessed trade winds will return.”
The Antigua and Barbuda Foreign Affairs Minister said the region has seen “darker days and we have always found our way back to the light. “I am not Nostradamus, Ezekiel, or Daniel, but this too shall pass,” he wrote.
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