US threatens to scrap Antiguan military aid over unpaid loan row
Prime Minister Antigua and Barbuda Gaston
Browne says a high-ranking United States diplomat in the region has threatened
to withhold assistance to the Antigua & Barbuda Defence Force over an
unpaid loan.
Browne said that some countries continue to
press the twin-island state for money “even though we not in a position to pay
them.”
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday (June
3), Browne recalled a telephone conversation he said he had with American
Ambassador to Antigua Linda Taglialatela, in which she demanded EC$ 25 million
owned for a port loan several years ago.
“Up to last week, I had a call from the US
Ambassador telling me that we owe them for the port loan and they want their
money,” he began.
“In fact, she reckon the arrears is about
US $9 million plus or 25 million…so I asked the distinguished Ambassador how do
you expect us to pay that 25 million dollar debt, in terms of the arrears, at a
time when we cannot even pay salaries and wages…..and I said it not because we
just don’t want to pay but we don’t have the resources. The irony about it too
is that they owe us for the WTO debt and even though we asked them to do a
set-off against what they owe us they are not looking at us,” Browne added.
It was at this point of the conversation,
Antiguan PM noted, that he was informed by the US diplomat of a threat to
withhold assistance.
“In fact, you what they have done, during
this time of covid, the Ambassador said to me the US will withdraw all the
military support they give to the Antigua & Barbuda Defence Force,” Browne
said, contending that at the same time the US questioned the country’s
relationship with China.
“These are the challenges we have to deal
with as a small nation. And then the very ambassador will ask me why we are so
close to China. Now I don’t know if they want us to be self-sacrificing allies
and to take a hostile position against China and to eliminate that source of
support,” he said.
“We have to work with those who help us to
build capacity,” the prime minister insisted.
