U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Saint Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday for a series of meetings with Caribbean leaders centered on regional security concerns and efforts to counter migration and drug trafficking, the State Department said.
Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman, said the visit will include a reaffirmation of the United States' commitment to working with CARICOM member states to "enhance stability and prosperity in our hemisphere." The Caribbean Community comprises 15 member states and five associated members, Pigott added.
In addition to security topics, Pigott said discussions will cover economic growth, health and energy security. Those areas are expected to form part of the agenda as the delegation consults with leaders from the region.
Rubio, who is described in State Department materials as the son of Cuban exiles, has been a leading voice in the Trump administration's pressure campaigns aimed at the left-wing governments of Venezuela and Cuba. Neither Venezuela nor Cuba are members of CARICOM.
According to the State Department statement, Trump administration officials have been pressing an interim administration in Caracas to permit U.S. companies access to Venezuelan oil and to pursue reforms. These efforts followed a U.S. military operation on January 3 that seized President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and resulted in dozens of fatalities, including 32 Cuban bodyguards.
The United States has also been taking measures to restrict oil shipments to Cuba, a move the statement said is worsening an existing energy shortage on the island. President Trump has urged Cuba's communist leaders to negotiate an agreement to ease what the statement described as a growing humanitarian crisis.
The trip to Saint Kitts and Nevis is presented by the State Department as part of a broader push to coordinate with CARICOM states on stability and prosperity while simultaneously applying pressure on Cuba and seeking to influence political and economic outcomes in Venezuela.