Marco Rubio: The U.S. is enhancing American security through Caribbean cooperation
We are strengthening ties with friends and partners in our own hemisphere, including in the Caribbean. My trip to Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname reaffirms the value of this strategy. The leaders of these countries, as well as the leaders of Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti, understand the stakes and are willing to put in the hard work to do what's right.
It's a unique relationship and one we've ignored for far too long. The U.S. and the Caribbean are bound by shared values, heritage, culture and community. Together, we are working to create a more secure region, addressing the illegal immigration crisis, taking down transnational criminal organizations that threaten our people and identifying opportunities to catalyze the Caribbean's tremendous economic potential by promoting private investments in energy.
The people of the United States and the Caribbean recognize that our safety and security are intertwined. The Caribbean is often referred to as our 'third border.'
As secretary of state, I oversee the implementation of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). Alongside 13 Caribbean partners, CBSI helps disrupt illicit narcotics and arms trafficking and counters transnational criminal organizations that undermine the security of the United States.
CBSI delivers tangible support and meaningful results. In Suriname, we are installing a modern immigration and customs system to more effectively screen travelers — a win for both of our countries.
In Jamaica, we are working to dismantle 'lotto scamming' rings that defraud U.S. and Jamaican citizens out of over $1 billion per year and fuel violent crime on the island.
In Trinidad and Tobago, we support the Caribbean region's Crime Gun Intelligence Unit, which partners with U.S. law enforcement agencies to disrupt illicit firearms trafficking that supplies transnational criminal organizations. Our collaboration is making the region safer, not only for those countries but also for the millions of U.S. tourists who visit the Caribbean.
At the same time, the United States is helping to unleash the economic potential of the entire Caribbean basin. This is a historic moment in the Caribbean for energy security, where disproportionately high electricity and energy prices have long hampered growth.
Guyana and Suriname are poised to see increased energy production in partnership with U.S. companies. I was honored to visit Guyana and meet with President Irfaan Ali as he works to enhance his own country's economic development, while helping bolster global energy security. Their development will create good jobs in the region helping to stem mass migration. It will also empower those nations to help their fellow Caribbean partners develop and grow in the years to come.
During my visit, I also witnessed the unfinished projects and empty promises of the Chinese Communist Party. China wants to take the Caribbean's raw materials and resources while offering little in return. Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative promises countries billions in investments but leaves them with shoddy construction, unsustainable debt and impoverished communities. Debt diplomacy has failed the region again and again.
In 2021, for instance, the Matthews Ridge dam, built by a Chinese mining company, collapsed and flooded local communities in northwest Guyana. Roads connecting communities were washed away, leaving locals without access to basic supplies and medical care and children unable to get to school.
Rather than fulfill its commitments to the people of Guyana and repair the dam, the Chinese company simply built a new dam in another location. Guyana's experience with Matthews Ridge dam is reflected around the world but especially in the region, with Belt and Road projects producing collapsing infrastructure, appalling environmental degradation, unsustainable debt burdens, and human rights abuses.
China's regional partners also engage in these predatory practices. For years, Venezuela's tyrannical regime exploited the Caribbean's dependence on Venezuelan energy through the Petrocaribe scheme.
A decade on, many countries still struggle to free themselves from it. Today, as the U.S. increases its role in the region, Nicolás Maduro's weakening, kleptocratic regime grows more erratic. Losing influence, Maduro turns to threats against Guyana's territorial integrity. This will not be tolerated.
The Cuban regime, meanwhile, has spent decades perfecting its forced labor for foreign exchange scheme by coercing and then exporting medical professionals throughout our region under the guise of charity.
During my visit, our regional partners in Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago pledged to ensure Cuban medical professionals working in their countries are treated with respect for their human and internationally recognized labor rights. They joined Barbados, which also makes sure doctors working there are not abused and exploited. Suriname, to its profound credit, shares our concerns and has no Cuban medical program. We will continue to work with Caribbean countries to ensure the region's vital healthcare needs are met, without resorting to forced labor.
This is a new era in U.S.-Caribbean relations. Our friendships have never been stronger. Our approach is simple and effective: We will work with our regional partners, strengthen critical supply chains, and build energy security. But we will no longer tolerate abuses and affronts against America.
Together, we will stop the criminal organizations threatening our safety. And we will push back on foreign powers' intervention in our hemisphere.
By working together with our Caribbean friends, we will make our hemisphere safer, stronger, and more prosperous today and for future generations.
Marco Rubio is the U.S. secretary of state. Previously, Rubio served as a U.S. senator from Florida from 2011-2025.
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