White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says that US President Donald Trump has invited the heads of state of the Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica and St. Lucia to Mar-a-Lago, the President’s Florida resort that is referred to as “the winter White House.” The Venezuelan crisis and business relations with the People’s Republic of China are said to top the meeting agenda.
The Dominican Presidency confirmed the participation of President Medina in the Friday, 22 March 2019 meeting. He is scheduled to return Saturday at noon. The Presidency says Medina will travel to Florida on a private plane departing in the morning from the San Isidro Air Base. He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado; Administrative Minister of the Presidency José Ramón Peralta, Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo. Also, businessmen José Miguel González Cuadra and Pepe Fanjul Jr.
He will be meeting with President Donald Trump and the leaders of Bahamas, Perry Gladstone; Haiti, Jovenel Moise; St. Lucia, Allen Chastanet; and Jamaica, Andrew Holness.
As reported, the meeting would be to discuss what the White House describes as China’s predatory economic practices and the Venezuela crisis. The meeting will also discuss matters of security cooperation and potential opportunities for energy investment.
Sanders went on record stating that the United States remains “a good friend to the Caribbean and seeks to build on a proud legacy as the region’s partner of choice.”
Recently, the Dominican Republic reversed years of backing the Chavez-Maduro regime in Venezuela by becoming one of a handful of nations to recognize ambassadors for the acting presidency of Juan Guaidó.
The meeting with the five Caribbean area leaders will follow that of Trump with President Jair Bolsanaro of Brazil on 20 March 2019.
A report in Diario Libre quotes former Dominican ambassador to the Organization of American States, Roberto Alvarez saying that the meeting was called due to the concern within the Trump administration with the Chinese business advances in the region, mainly in the Dominican Republic. He observed that Chinese companies are the leaders in 5G communications technology, the ultrafast new wireless network. A race for 5G is now said to present a new theatre for geopolitical competition. Alvarez says that who controls this new technology will control the future.
Read more in Spanish:
Hoy
El Nacional
Diario Libre
Presidencia
21 March 2019