The diplomatic expertise of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) must be stretched seriously thin trying to stave off the worst impacts of geopolitical events which have made 2025 one of, if not the region’s toughest year in recent memory.

And there is no clear indication that there will be any let-up soon, given the latest development, with Tuesday’s announcement by the United States of a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela” — which has grave implications for the Caribbean Sea.

International wire service reports said the US Navy has 11 ships, including an aircraft carrier and several amphibious assault vessels, in the region — enough assets to provide the military a significant ability to monitor marine traffic coming in and out of the country.

In addition, US President Donald Trump, in a post on his
Truth Social account, said he had designated the Venezuelan regime a “foreign terrorist organization”, which is usually reserved for non-State actors that do not have sovereign immunities conferred by either treaties or United Nations membership.

For its part, Venezuela has appealed to the United Nations (UN) Security Council to intervene on its behalf after the US Navy seized an oil tanker, and following an estimated 95 Venezuelans killed by the Navy on boats alleged, but without evidence, to be drug vessels headed to the US.

Cuba, which gets most of its oil from Venezuela, has supported the UN appeal against the actions of the US.

The US-Venezuela contretemps has dragged in Trinidad and Tobago, leading to a decision by President Nicolas Maduro to cut off with “immediate effect” any existing contract, agreement, or negotiation with Trinidad and Tobago, after accusing Port of Spain of being complicit in the US decision to seize the Venezuelan oil tanker last week.

Guyana, too, was drawn in, finding it necessary to declare that the oil tanker seized by the US “was falsely flying the Guyana flag” and is not registered there, and noting that its Maritime Administration (MARAD) has “observed the proliferation and unacceptable use of the Guyana flag by vessels that are not registered in Guyana”.

Venezuela aside, the Trump Administration has just named Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Haiti, three Caricom members whose citizens would either be “fully” restricted or have “limited” entry into the United States, with effect from January 1, 2026.

As justification, the US cited Antigua and Dominica as examples where a foreign national from a country that is subject to US travel restrictions could purchase citizenship by investment and thus apply for US visas to evade the restrictions.

All those man-made disasters in the making came in the wake of the catastrophic damage, widespread displacement, and loss of life caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and to a lesser extent the Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, and Bermuda.

The notion of the Caribbean being a Zone of Peace has never been as tested as it now is by the US-Venezuela stand-off, if that leads to full-blown war. The potential threat to the economy is real, with so much of the region being heavily reliant on tourism.

Hopefully Caricom leaders, working with the UN, are pulling out all the stops to persuade Washington and Caracas — our traditional allies — to resolve the issues by diplomatic means.