🌴 Good Morning, Caribbean! Here’s your regional roundup for Monday, February 9, 2026.
🇧🇧 BARBADOS: Election Day is Wednesday
Barbados is in full election mode. General elections are February 11 — just two days away — and the campaigns are reaching fever pitch.
PM Mia Mottley is going for her third term with the Barbados Labour Party, while the Democratic Labour Party is pushing candidates with ambitious local plans. Schools will be closed on election day to serve as polling stations.
Mottley slammed DLP candidate Ralph Thorne for an interview with Trinidad media, suggesting external interference. Meanwhile, DLP’s Jason Phillips in St. Peter has promised new roads, water systems, expanded healthcare and housing reform.
The BLP won 30 of 30 seats in 2022. The question isn’t whether Mottley wins — it’s whether the DLP can actually win seats this time.
Key stories:
- Early voting is already underway
- Dr. Browne highlights her record in St. Philip North
- Funds approved for St. Philip West Polyclinic redevelopment
- “Breadfruit as a national superfood” — Mottley’s latest agricultural initiative
🇹🇹 TRINIDAD: PM Addresses Caribbean Energy Week
PM Kamla Persad Bissessar will address Caribbean Energy Week 2026 amid what organizers are calling a “multi-billion-dollar energy investment surge.” Trinidad remains the Caribbean’s energy powerhouse, and with US military presence increasing in the Caribbean Sea, the geopolitics of energy in the region have never been more complex.
Defence Minister Wayne Sturge has had to dismiss social media claims that Trinidad’s airspace has been restricted. “All aviation operations remain normal,” he said.
Meanwhile, the US has reaffirmed its “strong partnership” with Persad Bissessar’s government, even as tensions rise over US military strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean. Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds of Barbados expressed concerns the strikes “may have bypassed due process.”
🇯🇲 JAMAICA: IMF $415M, Music Legends Lost
The IMF approved Jamaica’s request for US$415 million in emergency financial assistance to help meet balance-of-payments needs stemming from Hurricane Melissa’s October 2025 devastation.
In sadder news, Jamaica lost two music icons: Stephen “Cat” Coore, co-founder of Third World, died suddenly at 69. And legendary drummer Sly Dunbar of Sly and Robbie fame has also passed. Culture Minister Olivia Grange said Coore’s legacy will “live on.”
The government’s ‘I Love Jamaica’ concert series reportedly raised J$200 million for hurricane recovery.
Also: Two senior government employees were arrested at Sangster International Airport after police seized more than J$5 million worth of cocaine. Government employees. At the airport. With cocaine. Jamaica is never boring.
🇨🇺 CUBA: Crisis Deepens as US Tightens Embargo
The Caribbean cannot look away from Cuba. A powerful op-ed in Kaieteur News this weekend laid out the situation:
- The US has branded Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to its national security
- Venezuelan oil shipments have ceased following the Maduro removal
- Mexico, which had been supplying oil, faces US tariff threats if it continues
- Without fuel: ventilators stop, water systems fail, lights go out
The piece reminded readers that Cuba has for decades been the Caribbean’s most generous neighbour — sending doctors, nurses, teachers, and soldiers. Now Cuba needs help, and the Caribbean is largely silent.
“Oil is not a luxury,” the columnist wrote. “It powers ventilators in intensive care units.”
This is not just a Cuba story. It’s a Caribbean story. And it’s getting worse.
🏏 T20 World Cup: Opening Day Roundup
The T20 World Cup opened on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka:
| Match | Result | Star |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan vs Netherlands | Pakistan won (narrow escape) | Faheem Ashraf explosive knock |
| West Indies vs Scotland | WI won by 35 runs | Hetmyer 64, Shepherd 5/20 |
| India vs USA | India won by 29 runs | Suryakumar Yadav 50+ |
Coming up: Scotland vs Italy (Feb 9), West Indies vs England (Feb 11).
Hetmyer’s visa drama is its own Caribbean story — he landed in India hours before the match and immediately broke a World Cup record. That’s Caribbean time management at its finest.
🌊 Regional Quick Hits
- CARICOM private sector backs sugar refineries in Guyana and Belize
- SVG Sailing Week 2026 countdown officially begins after media launch
- Taiwan donates US$3 million to St. Vincent for social relief programs
- US Senate ranking member Reed condemns Caribbean military strikes
- CCJ President Justice Winston Anderson visiting Trinidad
- Caribbean Tourism Organisation to host flagship SOTIC conference in Guyana for the first time (October 2026)
- Amnesty International warns US airstrikes could violate international law
- Winter Olympics 2026 opening ceremony just days away — no Caribbean bobsled team this time, sadly
The Caribbean Brief covers regional news from across the West Indies and CARICOM nations. Published alongside the Guyana Daily Brief.
For Guyana-specific coverage, see today’s Daily Brief and Uncle Ramesh. 🌴