Category: CANA News

Activist Alyssa Phillip and her mother, Camille Caresquero, are to re-appear in court on July 20 after they were granted TT$60,000 (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) bail following their arrest during the Labour Day march on June 19.

Phillip has been charged with leading a march and failing to call on participants to disperse, disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest while Caresquero faced charges of being present at a march and failing to disperse, obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest. They appeared virtually before Master Kateisha Ambrose-Persadsingh on Monday and were allowed to continue on the TT$60,000 bail which was granted at the police station following their arrests. No conditions have been attached.

The National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) says it is consulting with its lawyers to prepare a legal challenge following the arrest of Phillip and Caresquero. The union had earlier said it had invited the activist to be part of its march on Labour Day when she was arrested.

Former police commissioner Gary Griffith has accused the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) of selectively enforcing the law and relying on ‘colonial-era’ legislation to justify the arrest of Phillip and her mother.

The TTPS had defended the arrests, saying in a statement that Phillip and a small group accompanying her were not part of the authorised procession and had attempted to participate in what police described as an unlawful march.

But in a lengthy statement Griffith said the police service was relying on ‘the narrowest possible reading of the law’ while ignoring ‘common sense, decades of precedent, the nature of Labour Day, and the very purpose for which permission for public marches is required in the first place’.

‘The arrest of Alyssa Phillip and her mother on Labour Day is a slap in the face to the post-colonial struggle of every citizen,’ Griffith said.

Phillip has been leading a series of protests calling for justice in the January 20 police-involved shooting death of 31-year-old Joshua Samaroo and the subsequent decision to charge his common law wife, Kaia Sealy, 25, with the unlawfully killing of Samaroo and shooting at three police officers.

The police also allege that she was in possession of a pistol and two rounds of 9mm ammunition and had these items to endanger life. Sealy, who has been placed on TT$700,000 bail, has also been charged with discharging a firearm within 40 metres of a public road.

Phillip, who along with her mother, are on TT$10,000 bail on charges stemming from a demonstration near the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions last month. They have been charged with disorderly behavior and with influencing public opinion in a manner prejudicial to public safety under the Emergency Powers Regulation.

Prior to her arrest last Friday, Phillip told the protest march that the future of Trinidad and Tobago will not be decided by fear.

Meanwhile, Police on Monday night confirmed that they had detained Christopher Samaroo, the father of Joshua Samaroo, following public statements he made over the last weekend.

Samaroo, accompanied by his attorney, Aaron Lewis, had earlier during the day voluntarily visited police stations to clarify comments attributed to him on social media which his attorney said were ‘twisted’ out of context.

Lewis described the arrest of his client as ‘unfortunate’ adding that Samaroo was detained under Regulation 11 of the Emergency Powers Regulations, which prohibits any person from endeavouring to influence public opinion in a manner likely to be prejudicial to public safety, or from possessing any article or doing an act to facilitate such an endeavour.

Lewis said Samaroo was detained at a police station on the outskirts of the capital ‘and informed both of us that he was the subject of an investigation’.

Lewis said Samaroo was cautioned and subsequently detained pursuant to Regulation 11 of the Emergency Powers Regulations.

Activist Alyssa Phillip and her mother, Camille Caresquero, are to re-appear in court on July 20 after they were granted TT$60,000 (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) bail following their arrest during the Labour Day march on June 19.

Phillip has been charged with leading a march and failing to call on participants to disperse, disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest while Caresquero faced charges of being present at a march and failing to disperse, obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest. They appeared virtually before Master Kateisha Ambrose-Persadsingh on Monday and were allowed to continue on the TT$60,000 bail which was granted at the police station following their arrests. No conditions have been attached.

The National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) says it is consulting with its lawyers to prepare a legal challenge following the arrest of Phillip and Caresquero. The union had earlier said it had invited the activist to be part of its march on Labour Day when she was arrested.

Former police commissioner Gary Griffith has accused the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) of selectively enforcing the law and relying on ‘colonial-era’ legislation to justify the arrest of Phillip and her mother.

The TTPS had defended the arrests, saying in a statement that Phillip and a small group accompanying her were not part of the authorised procession and had attempted to participate in what police described as an unlawful march.

But in a lengthy statement Griffith said the police service was relying on ‘the narrowest possible reading of the law’ while ignoring ‘common sense, decades of precedent, the nature of Labour Day, and the very purpose for which permission for public marches is required in the first place’.

‘The arrest of Alyssa Phillip and her mother on Labour Day is a slap in the face to the post-colonial struggle of every citizen,’ Griffith said.

Phillip has been leading a series of protests calling for justice in the January 20 police-involved shooting death of 31-year-old Joshua Samaroo and the subsequent decision to charge his common law wife, Kaia Sealy, 25, with the unlawfully killing of Samaroo and shooting at three police officers.

The police also allege that she was in possession of a pistol and two rounds of 9mm ammunition and had these items to endanger life. Sealy, who has been placed on TT$700,000 bail, has also been charged with discharging a firearm within 40 metres of a public road.

Phillip, who along with her mother, are on TT$10,000 bail on charges stemming from a demonstration near the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions last month. They have been charged with disorderly behavior and with influencing public opinion in a manner prejudicial to public safety under the Emergency Powers Regulation.

Prior to her arrest last Friday, Phillip told the protest march that the future of Trinidad and Tobago will not be decided by fear.

Meanwhile, Police on Monday night confirmed that they had detained Christopher Samaroo, the father of Joshua Samaroo, following public statements he made over the last weekend.

Samaroo, accompanied by his attorney, Aaron Lewis, had earlier during the day voluntarily visited police stations to clarify comments attributed to him on social media which his attorney said were ‘twisted’ out of context.

Lewis described the arrest of his client as ‘unfortunate’ adding that Samaroo was detained under Regulation 11 of the Emergency Powers Regulations, which prohibits any person from endeavouring to influence public opinion in a manner likely to be prejudicial to public safety, or from possessing any article or doing an act to facilitate such an endeavour.

Lewis said Samaroo was detained at a police station on the outskirts of the capital ‘and informed both of us that he was the subject of an investigation’.

Lewis said Samaroo was cautioned and subsequently detained pursuant to Regulation 11 of the Emergency Powers Regulations.

The Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) says it will invest US$10 billion through 2031 to finance projects that advance regional integration across Latin America and the Caribbean.

‘Regional integration has already achieved important progress, but it must now enter a more ambitious phase of implementation. Fewer barriers, more infrastructure. Fewer diagnoses, more projects,’ said CAF executive president, Sergio Diaz-Granados.

The CAF said that the resources will support strategic sectors including physical and digital infrastructure, intra-regional trade, food security, energy, tourism, innovation, logistics, and mobility, helping to strengthen connectivity, reduce development gaps, and improve the region’s competitiveness in an increasingly complex global environment.

CAF said that the investment reflects its continued commitment to regional integration as a driver of sustainable development, economic growth, and resilience.

CAF will support initiatives that strengthen value chains, advance the energy transition, improve food security, facilitate trade, and create greater opportunities for people and businesses across the region.

Díaz-Granados, made the announcement following the high-level discussions at the International Forum on Regional Integration that brought together government leaders, multilateral institutions, private sector representatives, academics, and development partners to discuss practical pathways for advancing integration in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank ECCB), Timothy Antoine; Ambassador Wayne McCook, Assistant Secretary-General of CARICOM; Ian Durant, Director of Economics at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Martín Portillo, chief engagement manager for Central America and Dominican Republic at CCRIF, and Natalie McGuire, curator at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, were among Caribbean delegates at the forum.

Díaz-Granados described the focus on integration as ‘a development, competitiveness, and global positioning imperative for Latin America and the Caribbean’.

In a context marked by geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, financial volatility, and a new era of uncertainty, he noted that countries across the region must deepen regional integration if they are to play a greater role in global value chains, advance the energy transition, strengthen food security, and adapt to a changing global production landscape.

‘Integration is the answer to protecting our strategic ecosystems, creating jobs, addressing informality, and defending the democratic values that underpin our coexistence, freedom, and future,’ he said.

Within the framework of the forum, 15 regional institutions signed on to the ‘Declaration on the Convergence of the Processes and Mechanisms of Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean.’

The declaration proposes moving towards an active and intelligent convergence of the various integration processes and mechanisms existing in the region. This approach seeks to coordinate capabilities, priorities, and lessons learned to avoid duplication, enhance synergies, and align strategic agendas.

Among the 15 signatories to the declaration were the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), and others.

Over the last 30 years, CAF has approved 118 credit operations totalling US$ 16.73 billion for regional integration initiatives.

Caribbean ministers with responsibility for disaster management will meet here later this month to discuss matters shaping the region’s disaster resilience agenda.

The Barbados-based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) said that the 16th Regular Meeting of the Council of Ministers will take place on June 26 and will also be attended by senior government officials from across the CDEMA’s 20 participating states.

The meeting will review progress, endorse strategic priorities, and provide policy direction for the continued advancement of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) across the region.

‘The Council meeting provides a critical opportunity for our Ministers and senior officials to take strategic decisions that will strengthen regional solidarity, enhance preparedness, and ensure that our people are better protected before, during and after disasters. The outcomes of the deliberations will help position the region to meet today’s challenges while building resilience for generations to come,’ said CDEMA executive director, Elizabeth Riley.

CDEMA said that included on the meeting agenda will be progress in the implementation of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems; updates on the Caribbean Resilient Recovery Facility; the advancement of CDEMA’s Regional Training Centre and upcoming preparations for the 14th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management being held in Georgetown, Guyana from 7-12 December, 2026.

The Council is expected to endorse a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening national and regional disaster management systems, enhancing accountability and governance, improving resource mobilization, and reinforcing mechanisms that support coordinated action among Participating States.

The Customs and Excise Division Tuesday said that it had intercepted a shipment of drugs valued at TT$1.4 million (One TT dollar=US$0.16cents) and a firearm during an operation on Monday.

In a brief statement, the Division said that the shipment containing marijuana and the firearm was seized during an intelligence-led operation conducted at a Customs Bonded Ara in POrt of Spain.

‘ The detailed examination of cargo consigned to a retired Customs and Excise guard resulted in the discovery of 11 packages containing a green plant like substance resembling that of the Dangerous Drug Marijuana with an estimated street value of TT$1.4 million as well as a separate package containing a black metallic object resembling that of a firearm concealed within a washer and dryer,’ the statement said.

It did not indicate whether the retired to whom the goods were consigned had been detained or questioned.

Police have charged three people with several counts of money-laundering and fraud-related charges in an alleged financial scheme totalling US$50 million and spanning nearly six years.

In a statement the police said that Paul Bilzerian, Terri Steffen and Gregory Gilpin-Payne were each charged with money-laundering and fraud offences committed between November 2018 and July 2024. They said that during that period the accused, together with others, are alleged to have conspired to obtain US$$50 million by false pretenses and to have subsequently laundered the money.

According to the police statement, on June 18 this year, Bilzerian was charged with money laundering by transaction, conspiracy to commit money laundering, false pretense and conspiracy to commit false pretense.

The police said that Steffen has been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, while Gilpin-Payne is facing charges of money laundering by transaction, conspiracy to commit money laundering, false pretense, conspiracy to commit false pretense.

They said that the investigations into the matter are ongoing and ‘highly commends the White Collar Crime Unit for its work in bringing this matter to this stage and reaffirms the Federation’s unwavering commitment to combatting financial crime in all its forms.

‘ St. Kitts and Nevis will not be used as a vehicle for fraud, false pretense, or the laundering of criminally obtained funds, and the Force will continue to pursue all such matters with the full force of the law,’ the police statement warned.

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is to seek a suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET) as the sub-regional grouping moves towards enhancing trade relations with South America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced.

Browne, who chaired the two-day OECS Summit that ended here on Monday, told a news conference that the meeting had discussed the issue of trade ‘and we felt that the region must look at alternative trade destinations to include South America, particularly Panama. ‘As you know, Cologne is the largest free trade zone within the hemisphere, and they do in excess of 33 billion US dollars a year in trade, and there are many opportunities for us to increase trade and to get very good quality products at affordable prices,’ said Browne, the new chairman of the nine-member grouping.

He said that many of those products leave Panama, then they go to the United States, subjected to a markup,’and then we are purchasing more expensive goods.

‘Now, the US’s policy of tariffication, that in itself would have resulted in an increase in the cost of goods, and that is why we have to explore new markets to try and address the issue of the rising cost of living within the OECS.

‘Many of our nationals complain about the increase in prices, and so that is a regional issue that is affecting our people, even affecting the quality of life. But outside of looking to South America and even Central America, we believe that the opportunities to import goods, especially food items from the Dominican Republic’.

Prime Minister Browne told reporters that the goods from the Dominican Republic could be obtained at ‘very, I would say, reasonable prices, competitive prices.

‘But in order to achieve that, we’ll have to approach CARICOM (Caribbean Community) for suspension of the common external tariff. So we have asked the OECS Commission, to do a study to determine the products that we can import at cheaper prices from the Dominican Republic, and for us to approach CARICOM for a temporary suspension of the CET…so that we will have the opportunity to import goods at lower prices into the sub-region.’

Browne said that currently, Antigua and Barbuda receives at least two shipments out of the Dominican Republic on a weekly basis and ‘so we have already established direct shipping links, and if we can import products directly at a cheaper price, that will certainly help to reduce the cost of living here in Antigua and Barbuda and within other OECS countries’.

The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Browne said that the two-day summit also discussed the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI).

Several of the OECS countries have CBI programmes through which foreign investors are granted citizenship of a particular OECS country in return for making a significant contribution to that country’s socio-economic development.

Prime Minister Browne said that the discussions on the CBI came against the backdrop of threats by the European Union to discontinue visa-free access under their Schengen visa-free programme.

‘It’s a matter of concern for heads, and we are now seeking to engage high-level officials within the European Union to see what we can do to, you know, get them to reconsider their position or to come to some other arrangement, possibly to introduce an ETA, an electronic travel authorisation, rather than suspending visa-free access.

‘But before we make such an entry, you want to make sure that we engage in high-level discussions with European officials, and we’ll be making efforts to try and have that engagement, hopefully by the fall of this year, and again just making sure that we continue to maintain constructive dialogue with the European Union, to obviously reiterate how important these programmes are.’

Browne described the CBI programme as a ‘very important source of non-cash revenue for the respective countries, and without any compensatory income, clearly it will result in some significant displacements in our respective countries, especially those countries that are heavily reliant on CBI revenues’.

He said the leaders also discussed the sub-region’s marine space and to develop strategies as to how they can sustainably exploit the marine resources, going beyond the typical fisheries, and at the same time to engage in research to see what type of marine resources available, including mineral resources.

He said that will determine whether or not ‘we have them in the commercial quality and quantity, so that we can explore alternatives.

‘In fact, we need to diversify our economies within the OECS. Most of us, all of us for that matter, we are tourism dependent, so if we can harness resources that may be available, even resources that we may not be aware of may exist in commercial quantities, then that will certainly help us to diversify our communities, our countries for that matter.

‘So we have asked the OECS Commission to develop a paper as to how we can collaborate and whether or not we can employ companies with satellite technologies and other technologies to help us to do a survey of our marine space and to see precisely what mineral and other resources we may have.’

Browne said that the leaders have decided to cooperate and share in the cost, because in many instances it will be cost ineffective for the islands to go it alone.

He said that another area to be ‘exploited’ will be the sargassum situation that has been a major problem for the OECS and the broader Caribbean.

‘We also have asked the OECS Commission to look at motor research technologies and equipment that can help us to not only harvest the sargassum weed, but also to convert it into usable products.

‘And where we can cooperate and to share costs associated with the acquisition of these technologies, we’re willing to do so. In fact, that will help to resolve a potential threat to our tourism product, while at the same time potentially helping us to convert sargassum into usable products or useful products, including fertiliser and possibly fuel, if they’re cost effective, ‘

Browne said that the leaders have also looked at the possibility of cooperating to create a carbon market within OECS, in which they can combine individual carbon credits as a result of their large seascape, which is about 500,000 kilometres larger than existing land space, to create this carbon credit market.

‘There are several carbon credit markets, including the European carbon credit (8:11) markets, and we would want to be in a position to participate in those markets and to use our (8:17) carbon credits as a source of revenue.

‘Clearly, the carbon sequestration that takes place within the respective countries is not sufficient for us to go it alone, so we are looking at the possibility of having a regional market so that we can negotiate with the European Union carbon credit market initiative or some other market in order to buy our carbon credits, so that we can raise revenues.’

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) has agreed to establish a broad-based advisory team to guide negotiations with the United States to accept a limited number of non-criminal third-country nationals and refugees.

ST. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr. Godwin Friday, said the request from Washington comes at a time of ‘profound geopolitical’ uncertainty.

‘We are in a time of profound geopolitical uncertainty, arguably the most consequential our region has faced in a generation. The wider tensions in our hemisphere hold profound implications for our security, our energy supply, the cost of living, our migration flows, and our diplomatic relations,’ Friday told the 78th summit of the OECS which ended here on Monday. Friday said the matter requires thoughtful deliberation and unity as it is ‘a delicate and serious matter’.

‘Very early on in the year, we were required to consider and navigate the delicate and serious matter of the request from our development partner and friend the United States that our member states assist them by accepting persons deported from the USA who were not our own citizens. Watch video

‘We are still working through this matter very carefully because it holds serious implications for our economy, the safety of our people, the utilization of scarce resources and for our sovereignty,’ Friday said, adding that the OECS countries agreed to work closely together to fashion the best outcome possible.

‘Accordingly, we agreed to establish a broad-based, high-level advisory team drawn from across our member states, to carry on technical discussions amongst themselves that guided our negotiations with the United States, individually and collectively.’

Prime Minister Friday said that small states are more sensitive to external shocks than most, because of their size.

‘What may be mere tremors for large nations are experienced as earthquakes by us, small island developing states; We, therefore, suffer the consequences worst and the longest,’ he added.

Meanwhile, the OECS chairman and Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, has said that his government will not agree to a third party agreement with the United States for 120 deportees to be sent to the island.

He told his colleagues that the ongoing discussions and arrangements with Washington are akin to ‘the deployment of economic coercion as an instrument of foreign policy’.

He said he has made it clear to Washington that there is no room in the discussions for criminals.

‘As I have said to them, as the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, I cannot willingly cooperate with any other power, any country, to destroy our beautiful twin island state. And we have insisted that we will not accept any criminal elements. At the same time, we want to limit the amount of individuals who they send to this country.’

Prime Minister Browne said Antigua and Barbuda will continue to cooperate with the US authorities on the issue adding ‘we are not being uncooperative here, but this idea that they could send us 120 individuals, we have said to them this is totally unacceptable, and we have sent them a counter-proposal.

‘We said that we’ll accept 10 annually. No more than 10,’ Browne said.

The position by the OECS countries come as Jamaica, last Wednesday confirmed that it is in negotiations with the United States to accept no more than 25 non-criminal third-country nationals and refugees.

National Security and Peace Minister, Dr. Horace Chang Chang said that Kingston had signed ‘after extensive negotiations…an agreement to transition to Jamaica, some third country nationals from the United States.

‘The number is 25. It’s an understanding, and at no time will the number exceed 25, because we have the right to refuse anyone at any time, and both parties can terminate the entire agreement without any long-term notice,’ Chang said.

Chang dismissed media reports that Kingston had only made known of the agreement after it had been leaked that the country had agreed to accept 10,000 deportees from the North American country.

‘No, no, the information leaked is different from what I’m talking about, and that’s not the problem. We are conflating two things. Some information was leaked, suggesting that we were in the process of negotiating the reception of 10,000 illegal immigrants.

Several Caribbean candidates are on the ballot in contesting the New York Democratic Primary on Tuesday.

Among the contestants in key races are Caribbean-American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants; Haitian-born New York City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse; New York State Assembly Member Monique Chandler-Waterman, the daughter of Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants; Trinidadian-born Assembly Member Jaime Williams; District Leader Anthony Beckford, the son of Jamaican immigrants; and Guyanese-born lawyer Michelle DeSouza-Forte, who is running for a Civil Court judgeship in Brooklyn.

In seeking re-election in the predominantly Caribbean 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, Clarke told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that ‘proven fighters’ are currently needed in the US Congress.

‘The stakes could not be higher, and my determination for this community could not be stronger,’ said the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). ‘We have to fight like our lives depend on it. Act like our nation’s future is on the line. Vote like our livelihoods depend on it, because they do.

‘So, Brooklyn, are you with me? Are we ready to fight back?’ Clarke asked. ‘Because our community is counting on us, and the soul of this nation is on the line, let’s get out there. When we fight, we win.’

Clarke said she takes her passion for her Caribbean heritage to Congress, where she also co-chairs the Congressional Caribbean Caucus and works to foster relationships between the United States and the Caribbean Community.

Clarke is a senior member of the US House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee, and has been a CBC member since coming to Congress in 2007.

In the 58th New York State Assembly District in Brooklyn, Narcisse and Chandler-Waterman are in a bitter feud for district leadership.

‘Today is the day,’ Narcisse told constituents early Tuesday. ‘Polls are open until 9:00 p.m., and I am asking for your vote.’

Narcisse said she is running for re-election as the Democratic State Committee Member, otherwise known as district leader, for the 58th Assembly District.

‘It is an unpaid role, but it is how East Flatbush, Canarsie, Crown Heights, and Brownsville keep a voice where the real decisions get made,’ she said.

‘I spent my career as a nurse before I ever ran for office. I know what it means to take care of people, and that is exactly what I have done in this seat since 2022. I am not done.’

Narcisse said she was ‘proud to have the support’ of the former representative for the 59th Assembly District and former US Ambassador to Jamaica Nick Perry.

She said Jamaican-born Perry first asked her ‘to serve in this role and stands with me again today.’

On the other hand, Chandler-Waterman said she looks forward to making her case to the voters of the Assembly District 58 ‘that I can best represent their interests when it comes to being a part of a Kings County (Brooklyn) Democratic Committee who put people before politics.’

She said her election as district leader would help ‘ensure a fair and equitable judicial nomination process, recommending responsible poll workers and election inspectors to work on Election Day, and continue my grassroots advocacy to educate voters.’

A district leader is a representative elected by registered Democrats in their Assembly District to serve on the New York State Democratic Committee, which is the official governing body of the state party.

The role involves nominating judges, voting on party rules, platform positions, and party leadership at the state level.

It’s an elected but unpaid position, and it runs on a two-year cycle tied to the Primary calendar.

Jamaican-American District Leader Anthony Beckford, a long-standing community advocate, mentor and activist, is also seeking re-election the district leader for the 43rd Assembly District in Brooklyn.

Since taking office in 2024, Beckford said he has remained consistent and dedicated to the work and his campaign vision.

The United States Marine Corps veteran said that, among other things, he has appointed the most poll workers in Brooklyn; has helped to elevate judges who have deep connections to the communities; has remained consistent in the fight to protect democracy; has created five new youth and senior initiatives that help to provide services, mentorship and much-needed resources; and brought more resources to the community.

Beckford said he has remained ‘outspoken against Trump, his administration and the racist, tyrannical policies that they have implemented.’

He said he is a ‘true coalition builder’, and has partnered with Assemblymember Brian Cunningham, also the son of Jamaican immigrants; Haitian-born Councilmember Rita Joseph; and many of his other fellow elected officials and community-based organizations to advocate for education, affordable low-income housing, affordable medical services, the end to deed theft, protect workers rights, and make sure that ‘the voices and demands of the people are heard throughout all levels of government.’

As a grassroots, community-based elected official, Beckford said he looks forward to being re-elected in the 43rd Assembly District in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary.

Trinidadian-born, New York State Assemblymember Jaime Williams is underscoring a broad coalition of support that includes elected officials, labor organizations, faith leaders and community advocates from across Brooklyn.

Williams, representative for the 59th Assembly District in Brooklyn, said the endorsements reflect her work on affordability, neighborhood investments, community services, and support for homeowners, tenants, seniors, and working families throughout the 59th Assembly District.

Williams said the support reflects years of working alongside residents and stakeholders in securing resources, funding, and opportunities that benefit local families.

‘I am grateful for the support of so many community leaders, organizations, and elected officials who share my commitment to serving the people of our district,’ she said. ‘Together, we have worked to bring resources, investments, and opportunities to our neighborhoods.

‘And I look forward to continuing that work on behalf of the families, seniors, homeowners, and young people who call this community home…I encourage every eligible voter to participate in this election and make their voice heard,’ she added.

DeSouza-Forte said she has been receiving a growing coalition of community and Democratic leaders’ endorsement for Civil Court Judge in New York.

DeSouza-Forte, who is running for a judgeship in the 6th Municipal District in Kings County (Brooklyn), said that New York City Bar has ‘approved’ her candidacy.

She also disclosed that she has earned the endorsement of several elected officials, including Caribbean nationals, in Brooklyn.

In addition, DeSouza-Forte said the New York Progressive Action Network has endorsed her candidacy.

‘I am honoured to receive the support of respected elected officials, district leaders, and community advocates who have dedicated themselves to serving Brooklyn. These endorsements reflect a shared belief that our courts must be fair, impartial, and accessible to everyone who enters them.

‘I am grateful for their confidence in my experience, integrity, and commitment to public service,’ she added. ‘Local Civil Court Judges make decisions that affect families, tenants, consumers, workers, and small businesses every day.

‘I am running because I believe every person who comes before the court deserves fairness, professionalism, and a judge who understands the real-life impact of every decision,’ continued DeSouza-Forte, who is currently on leave from her position as an assistant corporation counsel with the New York City Law Department.

DeSouza-Forte, who migrated from Guyana in 1985, grew up in East Flatbush, Brooklyn and currently resides in Canarsie, also in Brooklyn.

Antigua and Barbuda has welcomed the historic adoption of the Declaration on Improving Mental Health in the Americas noting that climate-related disasters, economic vulnerability, social disruption and the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have intensified the need for stronger mental health systems throughout the region.

The declaration was adopted at the ongoing 56th Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), with the Antigua and Barbuda ambassador, Sir Ronald Sanders, underscoring the importance of mental health as a pillar of human well-being, social cohesion and sustainable development. Sir Ronald noted that, at the request of Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda had initiated the discussion on mental health at the previous General Assembly that was held in St. John’s.

He told delegates Tuesday that the initiative was driven by the conviction that mental health is fundamental to the resilience and progress of societies across the hemisphere with the Caribbean island stressing that these pressures are shared across the region and require a collective response through hemispheric cooperation.

He said that mental health must be understood not only as a health concern, but also as a development, education, labour and human rights issue. In that regard, the newly adopted Declaration is being viewed as an important commitment by member states to deepen cooperation, share best practices, expand access to quality mental health services, and advance people-centred policies focused on prevention, care and recovery.

Antigua and Barbuda further welcomed the Declaration’s recognition of the needs of persons and groups in situations of vulnerability, and its affirmation of inclusive approaches to mental health policy.

Sir Ronald said that for too long mental health has remained one of the most neglected public health challenges in the hemisphere and the Declaration represents a collective affirmation that mental health is integral to human dignity, social well-being and sustainable development, and an investment in healthier and more resilient societies throughout the Americas.