Category: CANA News

The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) says it is commemorating 20 years of partnership with Korea this year, as trade between the country and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is projected to reach a record US$70 billion.

The issue was among matters discussed at the two day seventh Korea-LAC Business Summit, co-organized by the IDB Group, Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF), the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

The summit brought together hundreds of firms from Korea and Latin America and the Caribbean for over 600 one-on-one business meetings, alongside public officials, investors, and development partners.

The summit also launched the BID for the Americas programme in Korea, which connects companies from the IDB Group’s non-borrowing member countries to opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since joining the IDB Group in 2005, Korea has become a key development partner for Latin America and the Caribbean. Bilateral trade in goods and services has grown over fivefold from US$13 billion to a projected US$70 billion in 2025, according to a new joint report, Two Decades, One Partnership: Korea and the IDB Group Delivering at Scale.

Korean exports, including cars, electronics, and machinery , have expanded rapidly across Latin America and the Caribbean, while the region’s copper, lithium, fuels, and agricultural products have become essential to Korea’s economy.

Through the Korea-IDB Group partnership, more than four million households in Latin America and the Caribbean have gained access to electricity, water, sanitation, and digital services , supported by over two billion US dollars in Korea and IDB Group co-financing for infrastructure, connectivity, and clean energy.

At the Summit, the IDB Group and Korean partners also announced a new cooperation package to expand collaboration in five priority areas of artificial intelligence, energy, critical minerals, infrastructure, and talent mobility.

The new joint report identifies three key steps to accelerate progress: lowering trade costs, expanding preferential trade agreements, and coinvesting in value chains for critical minerals, resilient energy, digital transformation, and agri-food industries.

The Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago says it has received a commitment from the President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Kathy Smith, to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of the private sector in both countries.

‘We look forward to deepening relations with our counterparts in Guyana as we collaborate toward strengthening the private sector role in the development of both country’s energy sector,’ said Dr Thackwray Driver, the president and chief executive officer of the Energy Chamber.

President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Kathy Smith (center) in discussions with members of the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago.

In a statement, the Energy Chamber said that the commitment was given during a visit to Port of Spain by Smith for the post annual general meeting event titled ‘Building Guyana – T and T Private Sector Collaboration’.

It said that the event, which featured an address by Smith, also included a panel discussion with leaders from several energy services companies in Trinidad and Tobago.

‘The discussions focused on opportunities for collaboration and the removal of non-tariff barriers and alleviating port congestion issues,’ it said.

The Energy Chamber said that the proposed MoU will be centered around developing avenues for collaboration in areas such as skills development and knowledge transfer, local co

The Trinidad and Tobago government says it will deport 200 illegal Venezuelan nationals as part of the crackdown on criminal activities in the country.

The Ministry of Homeland Security has since issued an order to place all illegal migrants at the Immigration Detention Centre for deportation.

Illegal Venezuelan migrants arriving in Trinidad by boat (File Phhoto)

‘The Honourable Minister of Homeland Security has instructed that all illegal immigrants detained are to be held at the Immigration Detention Centre until repatriation. They are not to be placed on Orders of Supervision, as consideration is currently being given to the implementation of a mass deportation exercise for illegal immigrant

‘This policy takes immediate effect and shall remain in force until further instructions are issued by the Honourable Minister,’ according to a memo signed by Videsh Maharaj, Permanent Secretary of Homeland Security.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the deportation ‘is only for illegal immigrants who have committed criminal offences, of any nationality.

‘This is for people detained in the jails or detention centres who have been arrested for crimes. Nothing to do with kids,’ she added.

In August, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had indicated that while there would be no ‘mass deportation’ her administration is ‘still working on that policy,’ even as she blamed the former administration for failing to properly address the illegal migrant issue, which she said was linked to criminality.

‘That is what they allowed for the last 10 years. There was little, there was no attempt, little or no attempt by our predecessors to sift through immigrants who were legitimately fleeing conditions in Venezuela from those who came here with criminal intent,’ she told supporters at a UNC rally in August.

In recent weeks, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago have been at odds over the United States military build up in the region, with Caracas accusing Port of Spain as aiding and abetting Washington in its efforts at regime change in the South American country.

President Nicolas Maduro on Monday announced the suspension of all energy agreements between the two countries.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves Tuesday night announced November 27 s the date for the general elections in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Speaking at the ruling Unity Labour Party’s (ULP) ‘Labour Strong Rally’, Gonsalves said that the 15-seat Parliament has been dissolved and that Nomination Day is November. 10.

‘It is now decision time for our free and democratic people in free and fair elections for you to choose between the ULP and the NDP (New Democratic Party),’ Gonsalves said.

The ULP is seeking an unprecedented sixth consecutive term in office. The ULP had won an historic fifth consecutive five-year term by a 9-6 margin in 2020, when the party won North Leeward by one vote after a contentious recount.

However, in 2020, the party also lost the popular vote for the first time since 1998.

‘And the NDP, you’re listening to me: Hear me well. as a boy from country, I tell you, it’s ain’t long rope that does heng (hang) cattle; is short rope, and the rope is getting shorter and shorter,’ said the 79-year-old Gonsalves.

Gonsalves main challenge will come from the NDP, headed by the 66 year-old Dr. Godwin Friday who has been representing the Northern Grenadines since 2001,and his making his his second bid to become prime minister.

In 2020, Friday failed in his first attempt to lead the NDP to victory, almost four years after taking over the reins of the party.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has announced an increased in public assistance of EC$360 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents), saying that the increase is retroactive to three months.

Gonsalves also announced that public sector workers will receive a three per cent Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for three months.

‘A Christmas COLA will also be paid to all public servants, nurses, teachers, police officers, prison officers and non-established employees in the central government as a one-off payment tax-free, of three per cent of the person’s salaries or wages for three months,’ Gonsalves said.

Delivering his Independence Day address on Monday evening, Gonsalves said the minimum pension paid by the National Insurance Service (NIS) will be raised to the same amount, with the government contributing the additional EC$40 for each of the 1,910 pensioners, until an actuarial review is done, as required by law.

He said there are 4,646 people on public assistance, a social welfare programme through which the government gives a monthly payout to poor and vulnerable people, including the disabled.

Before Gonsalves’ announcement, public assistance recipients who are less than 65 years old received EC$280 monthly while those older received EC$300.

The prime minister said that from December, all recipients will receive EC$360 a month and that is in addition to the expanding menu of social safety net assistance, including housing, rents, food packages, lump sums for particular adverse events, and medical and pharmaceutical support.

‘To assist in cushioning the expenditure for persons who are receiving public assistance, I will be backdating this increase from September 1, 2025,’ Gonsalves said.

‘So, for a person receiving EC$280 a month in Public Assistance, his or her payment from December will be EC$80 more, but at the end of November, he or she will receive, in addition to his or her regular EC$280, a backdated lump sum of EC$240 – the additional EC$80 for each of the three months of September to November inclusive.’

Gonsalves said this was a kind of public assistance Cost of Living Adjustment, similar to what he announced for other categories of Vincentians.

Gonsalves said that the increase in public assistance for the four months will cost the Treasury EC$1.246 million, adding that it will be EC$3.74 million annually.

Gonsalves told the nation that when his Unity Labour Party (ULP) came to office in 2001, public assistance was EC$50 a month.

‘We have increased it some six times before the latest round of increases and expanded the list to accommodate more persons, particularly the elderly, the infirm and the physically challenged who are in need.’

He said any government has to be alert to the difficulty of increasing the monthly cash payment of public assistance above the minimum monthly payments for the pensioners at the NIS.

The NIS minimum pension is determined following a periodic actuarial review, as required by law.

‘Currently, there are 1,910 pensioners at the NIS who are on a minimum pension, out of nearly 10,000 pensioners overall on the NIS roll,’ Gonsalves said, receiving a minimum pension of EC$320 monthly.

‘These would have contributed to the pension fund. So, it is unfair to them, having contributed to the national insurance pension fund, that they should get less than the non-contributory public assistance,’ he said, adding that the people on minimum pensions rightly complain whenever public assistance payments exceed theirs.

The prime minister said he was correcting this until the next actuarial review, adding that in addition to the minimum NIS pension of EC$320 monthly, the government will pay through the NIS an additional EC$40 to bring the minimum pension to EC$360.

‘Not only that, because I give the back pay for the non-contributory pension, I’m also giving the back pay of the $40 for the three months, so they will get an additional $120 in a lump sum to help them between September and November.’

Gonsalves said the cost to the treasury for this support from September to December will be about EC$250,000.

‘I have to say, for completeness, those who are on the NIS have some additional benefits, such as a funeral grant for the family of a pensioner.,’ Gonsalves said, also announcing that his government will increase from EC$275 to EC$400 the monthly pay-out per foster child to foster families.

‘I know somebody may be saying, ‘Well, I have space for three foster children, so I’ll get EC$1,200.’ But remember, the ministry will vet you to see that you’re an appropriate person to be a foster mother.’

He said there are currently 165 children in foster care, either with families or with mothers who are not families or in institutional care, adding that the government will back date this increase to September.

Gonsalves said that the Christmas COLA to public sector workers will cost the Treasury three million EC dollars and that in January, the government will engage public sector unions on salary-related negotiations for three years, to be included in the 2026 budget.

Gonsalves also announced that 2,704 people who had been assessed to be in severe need and who were paid a COLA of EC$175 monthly for three months earlier this year will be paid a Christmas COLA of another three months from October to December this year.

‘This Christmas cola will be paid by the end of November 2025. This will cost the Treasury $1.4 million,’ he said.

The extremely dangerous category 5 Hurriccane Melissa has made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, with officials warning about the catastrophic winds, flash flooding and strom surge associated with the storm, already blamed for three lives.

As the storm inches closer to the island, a representative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said that the category 5 system ‘will be the strongest on the planet this year’ putting a million people at direct risk, ‘including families which are still recovering from Hurricane Beryl’ which hit Jamaica 16 months ago.

‘Roofs will be tested. Flood water will rise. Isolation will become a harsh reality for many,’ said Necephor Mghendi, the Trinidad-based IFRC’s head of Delegation for the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.

The tropical cyclone specialist with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO),  Anne-Claire Fontan, quoting the Miami based National Hurricane Center (NHC), said ‘total structural failure is likely.

‘I have never seen this sentence before. it’s a massive impact that is expected to be in Jamaica,’ she said.

The NHC in its latest bulleting said that the storm is about 40 miles south east of Negril in Jamaica and has maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour.

(Details in Full News section)

Police say they have detained three people in connection with the explosion at a gas station that killed one person and injured several others on Sunday night, but that the main suspect is stil on the run.

‘Information obtained from these arrests has provided key leads to investigators. The principal suspect, who remains at large, is being actively sought as the investigation continues,’ the police said in a statement.

They said that among those arrested is a Venezuelan national and that all three men are assisting with the investigation.

The authorities have not released any name to identify the main suspect being sought, but video image disseminated by them said the man, who is wanted for terrorism, speaks Spanish.

A six-year-old girl, who was in a car in the Mobil gas station compound in the capital was killed when the contents of a bulky black plastic bag exploded near the vehicle in which she and others were occupants. Four others were injured.

The explosion that rocked several parts of the capital city occurred at about 7:24 pm (local time) and according to closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance video, the man was seen entering the gas station and attempting to place the bulky bag in a waste disposal bin next to a fuel pump, but an attendant who was seated there told him not to do so.

The video recording shows him leaving the gas station through the western entrance but not before placing the bag next to the car. As the car was reversing slowly, the device in the bag exploded and rocked the car.

Meanwhile, the main opposition, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), is demanding that the government screen migrant workers and foreigners, while the other opposition grouping, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) said that security should be boosted at several key installations, in the wake of Sunday night’s explosion.

‘We call on the government to strengthen protection of critical infrastructure such as fuel depots, power substations, and public markets through updated safety audits and drills,’ APNU said in a statement.

WIN, which became the country’s main opposition grouping after securing the second most amount of seats in the September 1 regional and general elections, called for heightened national security measures and intelligence coordination and ‘stricter border monitoring and background checks on all non-Guyanese entrants.’

The party said two explosions at the Ruimveldt Police Outpost and the Guyana Power and Light’s substation in May 2025 and Sunday night’s incident were ‘interconnected’ ‘attacks’ warning that a number of persons crossing Guyana’s borders with open access to every sector of the society ‘might be members of the Venezuelan army or intelligence services, and not all have good intentions.’

It accused the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration of ‘allowing the influx of tens of thousands of Venezuelans into our country’ that compromised the nation’s national security.

In an obvious reference to the United States military build-up in the Caribbean and fears that the stage is being set to depose the Nicolás Maduro administration in Venezuela under the guise of fighting narco-trafficking, WIN said Guyana needed to be wary of the implications. ‘Given the current geopolitical dynamics, Guyana must remain on full alert for any potential negative repercussions or retaliatory actions from Venezuela,’ that party said.

The Jamaica Scorpions will have a new captain at the helm when they begin their quest for glory in next month’s CG United Super50 Cup.

Regular skipper, John Campbell, who is part of the West Indies squad to face New Zealand in a three-match Test series, will not be part of the team having been granted leave to focus on that assignment, which begins December 2.

John Campbell will not feature for Jamaica in the upcoming CG United Super50 Cup

The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) has not yet named the new captain, with the announcement expected in the coming days.

However, according to reports following a meeting earlier this week, middle-order batsman Brad Barnes is understood to be the front-runner for the role, with young batsman Kirk McKenzie and experienced all-rounder Peat Salmon also considered strong candidates.

The JCA has announced a 14-man squad which will take part in the tournament from November 19 to 29 in Trinidad and Tobago.

It features a core of experienced players, such as former West Indies vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood, along with a promising crop of rising stars, including McKenzie, Jordan Johnson and Abhijai Mansingh.

The Scorpions will take on the Guyana Harpy Eagles in their opening match at the Queen’s Park Oval on November 19.

SQUAD

JAMAICA SCORPIONS: Jermaine Blackwood, Marquino Mindley, Peat Salmon, Kirk McKenzie, Jordan Johnson, Abhijai Mansingh, Carlos Brown, Javelle Glen, Romaine Morris, Brad Barnes, Ojay Shields, Jeavor Royal, Tamarie Redwood, and Khari Campbell.

Having lost their last three T20I series, the West Indies are trying to turn things around against Bangladesh, says veteran player Rovman Powell.

The regional side entered the three-match series against the hosts reeling from 2-1 defeats against Nepal and Pakistan respectively, along with a 5-0 whitewash at the hands of Australia at home back in July.

In fact, the West Indies have won just one of their last eight T20I series, with their lone victory coming in a 1-0 triumph over minnows Ireland during their tour of England in June.

Among those defeats was a 3-0 drubbing by Bangladesh back in December 2024, where they were thoroughly outplayed at home.

However, the West Indies took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series against the hosts by winning Monday’s opening match by 16 runs at the Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium.

Victory in Wednesday’s second T20I at the same venue will help them secure the series with a match to spare.

They were led by standout performances by Player-of-the-Match Powell and captain Shai Hope with the bat, and Jason Holder and Jayden Seales with the ball.

Powell blasted 44 runs from 28 balls and shared an unbroken partnership of 83 with Hope, to boost West Indies up to 165 for three in their 20 overs.

Holder and Seales then took three wickets apiece to see them bowl out Bangladesh for 149 in 19.4 overs.

Speaking in a post-match interview following the win, Powell said the West Indies were aware of their recent struggles in the game’s shortest format.

However, he gave the assurance that they were doing everything in their power to get the sixth ranked Windies back to their winning ways.

‘We’ll try our best. Losing seven matches in a row, it doesn’t leave a good taste in our mouth.

‘Myself and the guys are eager to turn that around and being 1-0 up against Bangladesh provides that opportunity for us to turn it around,’ Powell said.

‘We know Bangladesh is a tough team, especially at home, so we’re definitely looking towards the next game to see how best we can improve and win this series then.’

The Barbados-based Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Tuesday said that the international satellite company, Eutelsat, is providing assistance to CBU members affected by the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

The category 5 hurricane is is forecast to have catastrophic effects on Jamaica and cause significant damage to Cuba, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas.

The CBU said that broadcast services in the path of the storm are expected to lose critical transmission infrastructure.

But the satellite service provider, which has partnered with the CBU for nearly a decade is offering no cost access to its satellite assets in the region.

Eutelsat will provide satellite capacity (C or Ku band) free of charge to help re-establish video transmissions once the monster storm passes. In addition, Eutelsat is on standby to support contacting regional satellite integrators to coordinate technical assistance.

‘The Eutelsat team which serves Latin America and the Caribbean has consistently proven its commitment to the region and its media services. This offer of assistance is a further demonstration of the Eutelsat philosophy of collaboration and support,’ said CBU President Anthony Greene.

SVP Media Americas from Eutelsat J. Ignacio González-Núñez, said, ‘at Eutelsat, we stand with our partners and colleagues across the Caribbean as they face the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa.

‘In times like these, communication becomes a lifeline. Our priority today is to help restore communication and broadcasting services as quickly as possible,’ he added.