President Danilo Medina participated in a gathering of Caribbean heads of state with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach, Florida on Friday, 22 March 2019. First Lady Melania Trump also served as hostess to the Caribbean leaders who accepted Trump’s unofficial invitation to the private residence of the US President.
President Medina flew to Florida for the meeting with leaders from The Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica and St. Lucia. Participating in the meeting were the President of Haiti Jovenel Moise, and prime ministers Hubert Minnis of The Bahamas, Andrew Holness of Jamaica and Allen Chastanet of St. Lucia. Prior to the meeting, President Danilo Medina hosted a luncheon for the Caribbean heads of government for an exchange of views on matters of mutual interest.
Upon returning to Santo Domingo on Saturday, 23 March 2019, President Medina said he was pleased in the interest the US President had shown in Caribbean countries and the Dominican Republic in particular. He said the situation in Venezuela was not a central issue of the talks and Trump did not ask his opinion on the issue.
He said President Trump is very interested in collaborating with the Dominican Republic in matters of trade, energy, combating international crime, and natural disaster mitigation, among other topics.
An editorial in Diario Libre reports that despite this was not announced by President Medina in his review of the trip, Trump had said during the meeting that he had given instructions to the US government Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to give priority status for the financing of US businesses in the convened countries. OPIC provides financial products such as loans and guaranties, political risk insurance, and support for investment funds, all of which help American businesses expand into emerging markets.
Medina said he took advantage of the opportunity to make several requests of the US President. He asked that the Dominican Republic be favored with the elimination of the tariffs on steel exports to Puerto Rico. He requested that companies in the DR be allowed to export boots for the military to the US, tariff-free. He asked the US travel advisory alert on visiting the Dominican Republic to be revised. He requested a low interest and long-term financing fund be created that could be accessed in the case of a natural disaster.
Medina said the issue of China’s advances in the Caribbean was not brought up.
Accompanying President Medina on the visit was Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas, Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jose Ramon Peralta, legal advisor to the President, Flavio Darío Espinal, and businessmen José Miguel González Cuadra and Pepe Fanjul Jr.
In its coverage of the meeting, the Guardian of Trinidad and Tobago said that the countries represented at the meeting were part of the Lima Group that has as objective a regime change in Venezuela and have supported opposition leader Juan Guaidó against embattled President Nicolás Maduro. Trinidad and Tobago was not invited.
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Presidencia
Presidencia
Diario Libre
Guardian
CBS News
25 March 2019