Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

The Great CARICOM Bluff
Isabelle Papillon
20 Dec 2023
🖨️ Print Article
Image of Haitian-Caricom talks

Originally published in Haiti Liberte.

The presence of CARICOM in Haiti to mediate talks is believed to be merely a smokescreen to further deceive the popular masses and continue the ruin of the country.

Since the arrival of the CARICOM Group of Eminent Personalities in Haiti on Wednesday, December 6, the country has been in dialogue mode. A dialogue of the deaf to continue the masquerade of negotiations under the pretext of achieving a government of compromise or understanding between the different protagonists of the political class, particularly those in the de facto power of Prime Minister Ariel Henry and those who claim to of the opposition.

To coax the naive or undecided into these negotiations, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Brian A Nichol's, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, each brought their support for Caricom's efforts to help Haitian actors reach a political agreement.

Brian A Nichol’s in a tweet indicated “The United States welcomes the return of the Caricom Eminent Persons Group to Haiti. We continue to support efforts to reach consensus on a political path forward and encourage all stakeholders to use this visit to advance constructive dialogue in the interest of the Haitian people.

However, when we hear about negotiations, it is pure bluff. This is not an activity during which serious issues concerning the future of the country will be discussed. Themes on the environment, education, agriculture, health, elections, misery, poverty and the phenomenon of insecurity which is spreading to all corners of the country. In fact, until Thursday December 14, 2023, this meeting will be held with a view to facilitating an agreement between the political protagonists, for a solution to the crisis.

In reaction to the reactions of his so-called adversaries who demand not only a two-headed Executive but also without Prime Minister Ariel Henry, André Michel of the Agreement of December 21 opted in favor of a Union Government and enlargement of the High Transitional Council (HCT).

On Monday, December 11, Ariel Henry participated in the dialogue, because he has the guarantee from the imperialist powers and emissaries that he will remain firm in office and will be part of any solution found in the negotiations.

In short, there is nothing to expect from the current talks which are only a bluff to further deceive the popular masses and continue the ruin of the country.

It doesn't matter if the executive is two or even four headed, with or without Prime Minister Ariel Henry, it would be the same, the same.

But what is at work at the Montana Hotel looks much more like a reconciliation meeting between brothers and sisters of the political class that has nothing to do with the future of the nation. Given the setting and the progress of the meeting, we are more in a sort of sharing of cake and the honey of power between the rascals, the petty ones under the arbitration and observation of Caricom personalities.

Some parties withdrew from this last end-of-year meeting since the emissaries did not follow up on their recommendations. The signatories of the Montana agreement, a significant weight in the sharing in a note did not fail to criticize the Caricom emissaries. They indicate that his submitted agreement approaches are part of a framework of strengthening and legitimizing the regime in place taking up the cause of Ariel Henry to the detriment of the position of other actors.

The absence of Montana and other organizations such as the Dessalinian Popular Patriotic Movement (MOPOD) did not shake the meeting process and negotiations which continue under the mediation of the CARICOM Group of Eminent Personalities.



Isabelle Papillon is a writer for HaĂŻti LibertĂ©. 

Haiti
CARICOM
Caribbean
Neocolonialism in the Caribbean

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: Is the US Anti-Caribbean? How to overcome it then, Tim Hector, 1997
08 April 2026
“...it is like a knee-jerk reaction in the U.S – this consistent, insistent and persistent anti-Caribbean policy in the U.S.
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Zophia Edwards’ Book, “Fueling Development”
01 April 2026
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Junior “Spirit” Cottle
The US Military Blockade – Its Potential Impact on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
25 March 2026
St. Vincent legalized medicinal cannabis in 2018, but the industry cannot take off while US warships enforce a blockade.
Josué Veloz Serrade
Cuba at the Crossroads of a Bogus Multilateralism
25 March 2026
“Cuba en la encrucijada de un multilateralismo hipócrita,” by Josué Veloz Serrade, appeared on
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Cuba, Venezuela and Regime Change
18 March 2026
Regime change is possible but not inevitable.
Michael Manley
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
INTERVIEW: Cuba is Fundamental to Us, Michael Manley, 1977
18 March 2026
“If you can do that to Cuba because somebody doesn't like the Cuban revolution, then how do I know that you don't do that to me tomor
Pablo Meriguet
Shield of the Americas: Trump’s New Tool for Hemispheric Military Coordination
17 March 2026
The agreement was signed by more than a dozen right-wing and far-right Latin American governments and ensures Washington’s dominance and leader
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
SONG: International Organizations/Oganizasyon Mondyal, Manno Charlemagne, 1986
11 March 2026
“We salute all peoples who are fighting/We honor all those who have died/For the cause of freedom.”
Tamanisha J. John , Kevin Edmonds
The Caribbean People’s Debt to Cuba
25 February 2026
Caribbean governments are betraying Cuba through silence and compliance with U.S. empire.
Gerald A. Perreira
Turning Its Back on Cuba: Government of Guyana Sells Its Soul
25 February 2026
Cuba has provided Guyana with doctors, scholarships, and healthcare for nearly five decades.

More Stories


  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Regarding Nuclear War Between Israel and Iran
    15 Apr 2026
    The political fallout from Trump’s recklessness in West Asia continues around the globe, while some wonder how far the radioactive fallout might travel if the war on Iran were to go nuclear.
  • Anthony Rogers-Wright
    Israel Just Passed a Law Sanctioning the Lynching of Palestinians…So Why is the Congressional Black Caucus So Silent About it?
    15 Apr 2026
    The same caucus that celebrated the Emmett Till Antilynching Act refuses to condemn Israel's new death penalty for Palestinians.
  • Jacqueline Luqman
    Shortcomings and Benefits Of The UN Resolution On Transatlantic Trafficking
    15 Apr 2026
    The UN has finally called the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity. But the resolution is not reparatory justice, and the nations that voted no or abstained show themselves to…
  • Sol Elias
    Death By Black Excellence
    15 Apr 2026
    Misogynoir, a term meant to name the specific violence against poor and working-class Black women is now being used as a shield for political elites.
  • Petros Bein
    Internal Colonialism and the Reproduction of Capital
    15 Apr 2026
    The United States operates as an internal colonial system. Black communities are treated like colonized territories, and the white working class is used as a tool to enforce that control.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us