CARICOM Chair and Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Terrence Drew, opened the 50th Regular Meeting of Heads of Government with a stark warning that the humanitarian collapse unfolding in Cuba is no longer a distant concern but a direct threat to the stability of the wider Caribbean. With Cuba’s population estimated between nine and twelve million—larger than the rest of CARICOM combined—he told leaders that any serious breakdown “will destabilise all of us.”
Dr. Drew grounded his intervention in lived experience rather than ideology. He studied and lived in Cuba for seven years, and still receives messages from people he considers family. “Food has become terribly scarce for some,” he said. “Access to water has been challenging… garbage fills the streets… houses without electricity.” He added, “I can only feel the pain of those who treated me so well when I was a student.”
He urged CARICOM to confront the crisis with seriousness and intention, calling for the community to establish channels that allow for direct humanitarian support and structured dialogue. “If a state within our community is so destabilised, that will affect all of us in the region,” he said, insisting that the region must “devise the mechanisms, the channels, so that we can help the people of Cuba at this particular time.”
Dr. Drew stressed that this effort must be grounded in respect for sovereignty, echoing earlier remarks from Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister. But he insisted that sovereignty cannot be used as a barrier to collective responsibility. “If ever there were a time to recommit ourselves to togetherness, it is now,” he said, repeating the line for emphasis.
His remarks come as CARICOM prepares for an unusual intervention in today’s proceedings: Secretary Rubio, a senior U.S. official of Cuban descent, is expected to address the Heads of Government. Such appearances are rare in CARICOM’s formal agenda, and his participation alone signals that Washington is paying unusually close attention to the situation in Cuba. While the content of his remarks remains unknown, his presence raises the possibility of a more assertive U.S. posture on humanitarian coordination, regional stability, or the future of U.S.–Caribbean engagement on Cuba.
For CARICOM, the convergence is striking: a chair speaking from personal experience, a region confronting the spillover risks of a deepening crisis, and a U.S. official with Cuban roots stepping into a forum that typically guards its autonomy. As the meeting continues, the question is no longer whether CARICOM should act, but how the region will navigate the emerging diplomatic landscape around Cuba’s future.