Latest news with #MauricioClaver-Carone
Reuters
08-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China, US clash over major Argentina currency swap line
BUENOS AIRES, April 8 (Reuters) - China is on a crash course with the United States over a major Chinese currency swap deal with Argentina that has buffered the South American country's depleted foreign reserve levels even as it seeks a new deal with the Washington-based IMF. In a talk at Miami Dade College, opens new tab late last week U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone slammed the long-standing $18 billion swap line as amounting to "extortion" by China and said Washington wanted to see it ended. On Tuesday Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian, in a regular press conference, shot back at the United States, alleging that Washington was trying to "drive a wedge" between China and partners in Latin America. "Fair-minded people are able to tell who is extorting and coercing others and making trouble," he said in response to a question about Claver-Carone's comments. "Argentina's currency swap with China has for a long time played an important role in stabilizing its economy and finances, which is welcomed and well received in Argentina." China, the world's No. 2 economy that is facing a major trade war standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump, has a long-term swap agreement with Argentina, a serial defaulter that has been firefighting a sliding currency and dwindling foreign currency reserves for years. That swap line has come under scrutiny under Trump, an ideological ally of Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei. Milei faces a tough juggling act, however, between his White House ally and China, which snaps up Argentine soy, beef and lithium. Argentina and China last year renewed the activated part of the currency swap through July 2026, which helped to defuse fears over a payment crunch. The central bank did say then it would gradually ramp that down to zero by mid-2026. Claver-Carone, asked about Argentina and its talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a new $20 billion loan program, said he hoped the talks ended in success, but that Washington was concerned about China's role in the country. "What we would like to see, eventually, is the end of the famous line of credit Argentina has with China," he said. "That line of credit is extortionate, and as long as they maintain that line of credit, China will always be able to extort." He did not give details about how the currency swap was extortionate, though the United States has long warned about what it calls Chinese debt diplomacy in Latin America. China says it offers tangible trade and investment to the region.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rubio to discuss energy security, illegal migration, in Caribbean trip
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will discuss energy security in the Caribbean, illegal immigration and dismantling of transnational criminal networks during a trip to the region later this week, U.S. State Department officials said on Tuesday. Speaking at a briefing, U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone told reporters that U.S. accusations about a labor program that sends Cuban workers, particularly medics, overseas was also going to be among the topics the top U.S. diplomat will tackle with his counterparts.
Reuters
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Rubio to discuss energy security, illegal migration, in Caribbean trip
WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will discuss energy security in the Caribbean, illegal immigration and dismantling of transnational criminal networks during a trip to the region later this week, U.S. State Department officials said on Tuesday. Speaking at a briefing, U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone told reporters that U.S. accusations about a labor program that sends Cuban workers, particularly medics, overseas was also going to be among the topics the top U.S. diplomat will tackle with his counterparts.
The Independent
11-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Caribbean leaders oppose US policy targeting Cuban medical missions, saying they're critical
Caribbean leaders are pushing back against a new U.S. policy that aims to crack down on Cuban medical missions, saying that the work of hundreds of Cuban medical staff across the region is essential. Hugh Todd, Guyana's foreign minister, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that foreign ministers from a 15-member Caribbean trade bloc known as Caricom recently met with U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone in Washington, D.C. after the U.S. threatened to restrict the visas of those involved with Cuban missions, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called 'forced labor.' 'The U.S. is a strategic partner to Caricom, but this very important issue has to be dealt with at the level of heads of government,' Todd said. Overall, Cuba has some 24,180 doctors working in 56 nations, with the missions boosting health care across the Caribbean, especially in impoverished nations with limited medical services. 'Their presence here is of importance to our health care system,' Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaica's foreign minister, said at a press briefing last week, noting the island has more than 400 Cuban doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers and technicians. At least two influential Caribbean leaders, the prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago and of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, have publicly rallied against the new policy and said they would gladly forgo their U.S. visas. 'I will prefer to lose my visa than to have 60 poor and working people die,' said St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. He said Cuban doctors are providing critical care to patients including 60 who receive dialysis treatment. 'I will not be able to offer that service,' he told reporters during a recent official trip to Jamaica. Meanwhile, Trinidad Prime Minister Keith Rowley told reporters Monday that he wouldn't mind losing his U.S. visa either. 'I just came back from California, and if I never go back there again in my life, I will ensure that the sovereignty of Trinidad and Tobago is known to its people and respected by all,' he said at a recent public event where the crowd clapped, according to the Daily Express, a local newspaper. 'We rely heavily on health care specialists whom we have obtained from India, the Philippines, and mainly from Cuba over the decades.' Rowley said those medical professionals are paid the same as local ones, 'but we're now being accused of taking part in the program where people are being exploited. That is someone's interpretation.' Last month, Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba's foreign minister, accused Rubio of putting his 'personal agenda' ahead of U.S. interests and called the move an 'unjustified aggressive measure.' ____
Washington Post
11-03-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Caribbean leaders oppose US policy targeting Cuban medical missions, saying they're critical
GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Caribbean leaders are pushing back against a new U.S. policy that aims to crack down on Cuban medical missions, saying that the work of hundreds of Cuban medical staff across the region is essential. Hugh Todd, Guyana's foreign minister, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that foreign ministers from a 15-member Caribbean trade bloc known as Caricom recently met with U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone in Washington, D.C. after the U.S. threatened to restrict the visas of those involved with Cuban missions, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called 'forced labor.' 'The U.S. is a strategic partner to Caricom, but this very important issue has to be dealt with at the level of heads of government,' Todd said. Overall, Cuba has some 24,180 doctors working in 56 nations, with the missions boosting health care across the Caribbean, especially in impoverished nations with limited medical services. 'Their presence here is of importance to our health care system,' Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaica's foreign minister, said at a press briefing last week, noting the island has more than 400 Cuban doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers and technicians. At least two influential Caribbean leaders, the prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago and of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, have publicly rallied against the new policy and said they would gladly forgo their U.S. visas. 'I will prefer to lose my visa than to have 60 poor and working people die,' said St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. He said Cuban doctors are providing critical care to patients including 60 who receive dialysis treatment. 'I will not be able to offer that service,' he told reporters during a recent official trip to Jamaica. Meanwhile, Trinidad Prime Minister Keith Rowley told reporters Monday that he wouldn't mind losing his U.S. visa either. 'I just came back from California, and if I never go back there again in my life, I will ensure that the sovereignty of Trinidad and Tobago is known to its people and respected by all,' he said at a recent public event where the crowd clapped, according to the Daily Express, a local newspaper. 'We rely heavily on health care specialists whom we have obtained from India, the Philippines, and mainly from Cuba over the decades.' Rowley said those medical professionals are paid the same as local ones, 'but we're now being accused of taking part in the program where people are being exploited. That is someone's interpretation.' Last month, Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba's foreign minister, accused Rubio of putting his 'personal agenda' ahead of U.S. interests and called the move an 'unjustified aggressive measure.' ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
