Caribbean Daily Brief
Saturday, January 24, 2026
Your regional roundup from across the Caribbean
🌴 GOOD MORNING, CARIBBEAN!
From Bridgetown to Kingston, Port of Spain to Georgetown — here’s what’s making waves across the region today!
🇺🇸 US-CARIBBEAN RELATIONS: THE TENSION CONTINUES
The Headlines:
- IMF approves $415M emergency assistance for Jamaica
- Caribbean nations facing stricter US visa scrutiny in 2026
- Barbados FM concerned about US military strikes bypassing “due process”
- US reaffirms partnership with Trinidad & Tobago
The Brief: The US and Caribbean relationship looking more complicated than a Port of Spain traffic roundabout!
Jamaica just secured $415 million from the IMF. You know things serious when the IMF is your financial advisor. But hey, at least somebody answering Jamaica’s calls!
Meanwhile, Caribbean nationals facing tighter US visa scrutiny. Birth tourism crackdown, they calling it. So now when pregnant Caribbean women want to visit Disney World, they gon get the third degree at the embassy. “Ma’am, what’s your due date? And why exactly do you want to see Mickey Mouse in your third trimester?”
Barbados Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds watching those US military strikes in the Caribbean Sea and raising eyebrows. “Due process,” he say. The Americans basically patrolling Caribbean waters like it’s their swimming pool, and our ministers can only send strongly worded statements.
But Trinidad somehow getting love letters from Trump administration! Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Trump apparently best friends now. Strange bedfellows, but politics make for strange everything these days.
🇻🇪 VENEZUELA: NEW MANAGEMENT, SAME DRAMA
The Headlines:
- Venezuela interim president moves to overhaul oil law
- US-Venezuela tensions continue
The Brief: Venezuela got new management and they already rewriting the oil laws.
Every Caribbean nation watching this like hawks. Venezuela change their oil deals, Guyana gon want to renegotiate. Trinidad gon want better gas terms. And the oil companies? They just shuffling lawyers from one country to the next like a Caribbean legal tour.
The US invasion (sorry, “military operation”) aftermath still playing out. Bombs falling in Caracas, the Caribbean calling for “dialogue,” and everybody pretending this is normal international relations.
But you know how Caribbean people stay — we gon watch the drama, make commentary, and still fly through Venezuelan airspace because the tickets cheap.
🇯🇲 JAMAICA: WINNING ELECTIONS, NEEDING MONEY
The Headlines:
- Andrew Holness wins third consecutive term
- Jamaica secures $415M IMF emergency assistance
- Gas prices up in Jamaica
The Brief: Andrew Holness just became the first Jamaica Labour Party leader to win THREE terms in a row! Historic!
Of course, the margin smaller than the last election, but a win is a win. Just like a Jamaican patty with less filling — still a patty!
But winning don’t pay the bills. That $415 million IMF package shows Jamaica still struggling post-Hurricane Melissa. Climate change hitting the Caribbean different, and our economies built on beaches that keep washing away.
Gas prices up too. Everything up except wages. Classic Caribbean economy vibes.
🇧🇧 BARBADOS: POLITICS AND RUNNING
The Headlines:
- Tyra Trotman wins BLP nomination for St Michael Central
- UK marathon runner launches “Project Run 246” charity run
- Barbados Sailing Week 2026 announced
The Brief: Barbados Labour Party nomination battles heating up! Lawyer Tyra Trotman defeated Dr Lynette Holder for St Michael Central. Legal eagle beats the doctor — sounds like the start of a bad lawyer joke.
Meanwhile, some British man running around the entire island for charity. “Project Run 246” — the area code turned fitness challenge. Bajans watching from their rum shop like “He running in THIS heat? For free?!”
Sailing Week 2026 announced too. Rich people sailing, regular people watching, rum flowing regardless. The Caribbean economy in action!
🇹🇹 TRINIDAD: CRICKET AND POLITICS
The Headlines:
- Trinbago Knight Riders win fifth CPL title
- T&T-US relations reaffirmed amid Venezuela tensions
- CCJ-CARICOM mess continues
The Brief: Trinbago Knight Riders bringing home trophy number FIVE! The CPL trophy more at home in Trinidad than anywhere else. At this point, just rename it the Trinidad Premier League and done!
But off the field, Trinidad playing a delicate game. US wants them close because of Venezuela proximity. Trinidad wants US money but doesn’t want to be seen as a US puppet. Classic Caribbean diplomacy: smile at everybody, commit to nobody, and keep the oil flowing.
The CCJ-CARICOM situation still a mess. Jamaica and Bahamas creating confusion, and the rest of the region watching like it’s a bad soap opera. We created CARICOM for regional unity and can’t even agree on a court. Beautiful.
🇬🇾 GUYANA: OIL MONEY AND OPPOSITION DRAMA
The Headlines:
- Budget 2026 coming Monday
- Opposition Leader vote finally happening
- INTERPOL busts gold smuggling ring
The Brief: Guyana, Guyana, Guyana. The region’s hottest economy and messiest politics!
Budget 2026 dropping Monday. Every year Guyana’s budget bigger than the year before. At this rate, by 2030, Guyana’s budget gon be bigger than some Caribbean countries’ GDP!
The Opposition Leader drama would make good Netflix content. A US-indicted businessman about to become Leader of the Opposition while the former opposition party can’t decide whether to vote. Exxon watching this and laughing all the way to the bank.
INTERPOL found a gold smuggling ring. In Guyana. Where gold is everywhere. Truly shocking that people would try to smuggle the thing that literally makes people rich. Next they gon discover water smuggling in Trinidad!
🏏 CRICKET UPDATE
- West Indies vs Afghanistan T20 series coming up in Dubai
- CWI Women’s Blaze T20 Championships ongoing
- Guyana women defeated Jamaica in thriller
Cricket is the one thing uniting the Caribbean right now. Everything else is politics, but cricket? That’s religion.
🌊 REGIONAL ROUNDUP
Cuba: Still struggling under US sanctions. Power cuts, fuel shortages, and 2026 looking harder than 2025.
Grenada: Under increased US visa scrutiny but pushing solar energy with Carib Brewery. At least the beer will be green!
St. Vincent: Sailing Week countdown begun. Tourism dollars incoming!
Dominican Republic: E-passport rollout happening. Technology reaching the Caribbean!
USVI: Refinery cleanup continuing. Environmental sins of the past still paying dividends… of the bad kind.
💭 CARIBBEAN THOUGHT OF THE DAY
The US putting military ships in our waters, tightening our visas, and demanding “partnerships.”
But when we need climate funding? “We’ll get back to you.” When we need debt relief? “Have you considered the IMF?” When our people need to migrate? “Not like that!”
The Caribbean stuck between superpowers, and we just trying to keep the lights on and the tourists coming.
But we Caribbean. We survive hurricanes, colonialism, and each other. We gon survive this too.
One Caribbean! 🌴
The Caribbean Daily Brief: Because regional news matters, and somebody has to read all these different newspapers!
Sources: Caribbean Today, Caribbean News Global, Nation News (Barbados), Jamaica Observer, Trinidad Express, Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, Guyana Times, Guyana Chronicle
© 2026 The Guyana Brief. Covering the Caribbean from a Guyanese perspective.