PM Browne Says US Visa Warning Prompted Change in Position on Cuba Vote

Antigua and Barbuda changed its intended support for a United Nations resolution concerning Cuba after United States officials warned that the vote could undermine ongoing visa negotiations, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has disclosed.

According to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), Browne told his weekly radio programme that his government had initially decided to support Cuba before receiving a call from the US State Department.

“We had decided to support Cuba on a resolution recently and changed our position because we had a call from the State Department advising us that they’re making progress in the negotiations and if we supported Cuba, that it would undermine the negotiations, so we changed our position,” Browne said.

The Prime Minister said instructions were subsequently given to Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador in New York to abstain. However, the country was recorded as absent when the vote was taken.

“Our instructions to the ambassador in New York were to abstain. I noticed he did not show up, I don’t know what happened,” Browne said.

CMC reported that CARICOM countries took differing positions during the October 28 vote. Jamaica, Haiti and Guyana abstained, while Trinidad and Tobago voted against the resolution.

The Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, and Suriname voted in favour. Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and St Lucia were recorded as absent.

Browne’s disclosure came after a caller said she was unable to travel to the United States to visit her ailing mother because her visa had expired and obtaining another remained difficult.

The Prime Minister said his administration continued to pursue the matter through diplomatic channels, although he remained uncertain about the reasons behind the US position.

“I have said time and time again that there is no justification for it because, you know, we have had very good relations with the United States. We have never done anything to offend them,” he said.

Browne also questioned whether concerns about Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment Programme were driving the visa difficulties.

He said the government had written to the European Union indicating its willingness to suspend the programme, while requesting an additional three and a half years for a phased withdrawal. A response was still pending, he said.

Browne indicated that the government intended to write again to US authorities following the formal suspension he referenced for November 12, to address concerns raised about the programme.

Despite those efforts, he acknowledged that resolving the visa issue remained difficult. He said he understood that the determination originated within the White House, although he could not say whether President Donald Trump was personally directing it.

“We’re still working through the diplomatic lines to have this issue addressed,” Browne said, adding that members of the State Department were working to assist.