Latest news with #Ramdin
Politico
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Troubled OAS pitches a new Haiti intervention
With help from Jacob Wendler, Sam Skove, Connor O'Brien, Felicia Schwartz, Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Eric FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY: The head of the Washington-based Organization of American States — a grouping of 35 Latin American and Caribbean countries focused on regional development — has a plan to mobilize its members to end the chaos in Haiti. The organization's Secretary General ALBERT RAMDIN called for a $1.4 billion OAS-led and European Union-backed intervention in Haiti starting next month in a closed-door speech to OAS representatives Tuesday. In the speech — which NatSec Daily got a transcript of — Ramdin outlined a plan to defeat the gangs sowing chaos in Haiti's cities, allow unimpeded humanitarian aid to the country's 1.3 million displaced people and restore order to pave the way to national elections. That will include the creation of six European Union-funded 'forward operating bases' tasked to resolve the 'dire' security situation in and around the capital Port-Au-Prince. In his speech Ramdin thanked the EU for 'providing the resources' for that initiative but did not say what commitments he had received from the EU. Neither the OAS nor the EU responded to requests for comment. Haiti — the poorest country in the Western hemisphere — has been tormented by violent gangs since the assassination of President JOVENEL MOÏSE in 2021 led to a collapse of the country's government. A Kenyan-led U.N.-backed multinational security force deployed to the island in 2024 has failed to restore order. And U.N. Security Council members Russia and China have nixed U.S. efforts to send U.N. peacekeepers. Ramdin said that of the $1.4 billion that the OAS requires for the plan, a total of $900 million will fund 'humanitarian response' in Haiti. If OAS members approve his proposal 'by early September, we can start the process of execution' of the plan. Ramdin's pitch for OAS intervention in Haiti comes as the organization is in the Trump administration's crosshairs. The U.S. has historically funded about 50 percent of the OAS' annual budget. The Trump administration has withheld that money during a 180- day review of U.S. support for multilateral organizations that concludes Saturday. So far OAS has not impressed the Trump administration with its actions in Haiti. Secretary of State MARCO RUBIO criticized the OAS in May for failing to 'provide a force' to stabilize Haiti. Then in June, Deputy Secretary of State CHRISTOPHER LANDAU piled on. 'If the OAS is unwilling or unable to play a constructive role in Haiti, then we must seriously ask ourselves why the OAS exists,' he said in a speech at the group's General Assembly. But that ignores structural restraints on how the OAS operates. 'The OAS is not equipped, bureaucratically or legally, to organize a military force,' said FRANK MORA, who was U.S. ambassador to the grouping during the Biden administration. When asked if Ramdin's proposal was an implicit bid for continuing U.S. support for the OAS ahead of the administration's funding decision, Mora said 'I think you just nailed it.' The State Department didn't respond to a request for comment. Ramdin described his proposed OAS intervention as strictly temporary. 'Once the security environment improves, we will go into long-term security management, which means that we won't need troops anymore from outside,' Ramdin said. That may underestimate the challenges of confronting the violence in Haiti. 'It will take a sustained effort — a mini–Marshall Plan — that no country has been willing to support so far,' said LELAND LAZARUS, a former special assistant to the head of U.S. Southern Command. The Inbox FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — HAMAS HOSTAGE'S WIFE PLEADS FOR MORE TALKS: LISHAY MIRAN-LAVI, the wife of an Israeli hostage in Gaza, told our own Daniel Lippman that Rubio assured her talks to free the hostages continue, even though U.S. and Israeli negotiators pulled out of talks with Hamas last week. Miran-Lavi and several other hostage families met with Rubio last Friday — the day after U.S. negotiators abandoned the talks in Doha. She said that Rubio told them to ignore the 'background noise' from the various parties and that negotiations were continuing, though he didn't provide details. She said she urged Rubio to pressure both sides to make a deal to free her husband OMRI MIRAN, who Hamas militants abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the Nahal Oz kibbutz. She and the other families also met with administration officials at the White House and Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) during their Washington trip. 'I really hope that the administration, Rubio and others that we met understand that freeing the hostages is really the key, and this is really the solution to a lot of problems that we have,' she said. A person with knowledge of the discussion confirmed that Rubio told the hostage families that efforts to free their relatives would not stop. 'President Trump and Secretary Rubio remain focused on releasing the hostages, including the remains of two Americans,' a State Department spokesperson said. TARIFFS TAINT FOREIGN POLICY: Several of President DONALD TRUMP's updated reciprocal tariff rates unveiled Thursday are hitting countries at risk for instability and could conflict with Trump's aim to create stability in the Middle East, our own Felicia Schwartz writes in. Take Syria, which faces a 41 percent tariff that matches the reciprocal levy Trump imposed on the country's imports in April. While the U.S. and Syria have minimal trade, that tariff level could still create tension in nascent U.S. relations with its new government after the ouster of former Syrian President BASHAR ASSAD late last year. It also appears to run counter to the Trump administration's decision to lift sanctions on Damascus in June, which aimed to build ties with its transitional government and help it rebuild the country. Iraq, meanwhile, saw a slight decrease in its April tariff rate to 35 percent from 39 percent. That levy exempts oil, which dominates U.S.-Iraqi trade but inflicts a symbolic sting that could send an unwelcome signal to one of Washington's most important partners in containing Iranian influence and a key target of U.S. efforts to win countries away from China. NASA SHRINKAGE: The thousands of NASA employees leaving the agency won't create a 'critical loss' of knowledge at the agency, NASA's chief of staff BRIAN HUGHES told our own Sam Skove in this morning's Space newsletter. A blend of the White House's proposed 25 percent cut in the agency's budget and the retirement of a large swathe of its senior staff has fueled the exit of almost 4,000 employees since January. Hughes is fine with that. 'Even when some senior people have left, there's an additional cadre behind them,' Hughes said. Hughes' words carry extra weight thanks to his strong ties to the White House — an unusual feature for a NASA chief-of-staff. Hughes had no NASA background before taking on his post, but he has proven loyalty to Trump after running his Florida campaign in last year's presidential election. With no permanent NASA administrator selected, Hughes is the top politically appointed Trump official at NASA, after Transportation Secretary SEAN DUFFY, who heads NASA on an interim basis. DRINKS WITH NATSEC DAILY: At the end of every long, hard week, we like to highlight how a prominent member of the national security scene prefers to unwind with a drink. Today, we're featuring DREW THOMPSON, who served as the Pentagon's director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia from 2011 and 2018. Thompson is now a fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. Singapore's weather year-round mirrors what we've endured here in the DMV the past few weeks. Think constant high heat and sweltering humidity that makes a drink — any drink! — the highlight of one's day. No surprise that Drew's go-to libation is an icy cold beer. But not one from some soulless corporate manufacturer. Drew's brew comes from his own home-blending of water, hops and yeast that produces a pint that can strip the stripes off the local Tiger Beer brand. 'After I left the Department of Defense and moved to Singapore in 2018, I learned how to make home-brewed beer and have been making my own beer ever since. It's a great discussion starter when I bring a few bottles to a friend's house and introduce the latest batch.' 乾杯 ! IT'S FRIDAY! WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily! This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at ebazail@ and follow Eric on X @ebazaileimil. While you're at it, follow the rest of POLITICO's global security team on social media: @dave_brown24, @HeidiVogt, @jessicameyers, @RosiePerper, @ @PhelimKine, @felschwartz, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @reporterjoe, @JackDetsch, @samuelskove, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130 and @delizanickel The Complex UNDER THE DOME: The Pentagon has scheduled its first major test of the Trump administration's planned Golden Dome missile defense system for 2028, CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Zachary Cohen scooped today. That aggressive timeline would deliver on the three-year target announced by Trump in May for the $175 million project and, if successful, give the administration a high-profile win to tout in November 2028. Defense Secretary PETE HEGSETH gave Space Force Gen. MICHAEL GUETLEIN, who Trump charged with spearheading the project, 60 days to come up with an initial architecture and 120 days to draft an implementation plan in late May, per a memo obtained by CNN. But, as our colleagues Connor O'Brien and Joe Gould reported Thursday (for Pros!), the defense appropriations bill heading to the Senate floor doesn't allocate any new money for the defense system, which was awarded $25 billion in the GOP megabill. UKRAINE'S PATRIOT GAINS: Germany has brokered a deal with the Trump administration for the delivery of two Patriot missile systems to Ukraine in the coming days, the German Defense Ministry announced today. Berlin will then deliver 'further system components' to Kyiv in the next two to three months, with the Pentagon promising Berlin will be first in line to receive the newest Patriot technology in return, the statement said. German Defense Minister BORIS PISTORIUS said the agreement won't affect Berlin's NATO contributions. That deal follows a Russian bombardment of Kyiv on Thursday that killed 31 people — the deadliest attack on Ukraine's capital in a year. Meanwhile, Trump upped the ante in his ongoing feud with former Russian leader DMITRY MEDVEDEV, writing on his Truth Social platform this afternoon that he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be sent to the region 'just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than that.' The threat came after Trump and Medvedev traded epithets on social media Thursday, with Medvedev — the deputy chair of Russia's security council — threatening Trump with a Cold War-era Russian doomsday weapon designed to automatically launch a retaliatory nuclear strike, as our own Eli Stokols and Paul McCleary report. On the Hill FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — SENATE DEMS HIT TRUMP ADMIN ON HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT: Sen. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.) and her fellow Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are introducing legislation today to safeguard the credibility of the State Department's annual human rights report after officials delayed the release of last year's report to make changes to sensitive sections. As our own Nahal Toosi scooped Thursday, the 2024 report was initially scheduled for release today but has since been sent for more edits overseen by Rubio's top aides on topics including Israel and Gaza. The bill, dubbed the Safeguarding the Integrity of Human Rights Reports Act, would require the State Department to report on government corruption, restrictions on freedom of expression or political participation and discrimination against women, indigenous people and LGBTQ+ people, among other issues. Rep. GREGORY MEEKS (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is introducing companion legislation. 'Omitting key information for political interests undermines the integrity of the entire report,' Shaheen said in a statement. Expect GOP lawmakers to mostly ignore the bill due to the absence of a Republican co-sponsor and its explicit criticism of Trump administration foreign policy. Broadsides WITKOFF'S 'STAGED' GAZA VISIT: Special envoy STEVE WITKOFF and U.S. Ambassador to Israel MIKE HUCKABEE visited a section of Gaza on today as the Trump administration tries to cool concerns within the GOP (think MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE) about mass hunger in the zone. But Witkoff ended up taking heat from a former senior Palestinian Authority official instead. 'Mr. Witkoff, Gaza is not an animal farm that requires a staged personal visit to take some personal photos in front of the death traps overseen by your American companies,' said Gaza's former health minister BASEM NAIM, per CNN. While in Gaza Witkoff and Huckabee visited a distribution center for the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and pledged to report back to Trump about its operations. Hundreds of Gazans have been killed since May trying to access food and water amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the zone. Huckabee pushed back against criticism of that U.S.-backed aid effort by praising it as 'an incredible feat' in an X post today. BEIJING BLASTS PALESTINIAN SANCTIONS: The Chinese government took aim today at the Trump administration's imposition of sanctions that will bar members of Palestinian political entities from obtaining U.S. visas. 'China is appalled by the U.S. sanctioning officials of the Palestinian Authority and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization,' said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson GUO JIAKUN. Guo said the sanctions symbolized the Trump administration 'turning a blind eye to the international effort for peace' between Israelis and Palestinians. The State Department said Thursday that the sanctions are punishment for the groups' 'continuing to support terrorism. The sanctions are administration pushback against threats by countries including Canada, France and the United Kingdom to recognize Palestinian statehood unless Israel ends its military operations in Gaza. Transitions — JULIA REESE, former senior legislative assistant to Rep. ASHLEY HINSON (R-Iowa), is now federal government affairs principal at Nucor Corporation. — TÕNIS SAAR is the new director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence. Saar most recently served as secretary general of the Estonian Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs. What to Read — Mitch McConnell and Chris Coons, Washington Post: How to ensure America is ready for the next war — Lev Nachman and Wei Ting-yen, Foreign Affairs: Taiwan's Democracy is in Trouble — Mark McKinnon, The Globe and Mail: Movement to recognize Palestinian statehood reflects Israel's growing isolation Monday Today — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, 10 a.m.: Spacepower in Action: Leading the Fight for Space Superiority — Foreign Policy, 11 a.m.: The Future of European Defense — Stimson Center, 8 p.m.: Assessing North Korea's '20×10' Regional Development Progress Thanks to our editors, Heidi Vogt and Emily Lussier, who deliver danger-free aid daily.
Miami Herald
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Haiti, Venezuela, migration on agenda as OAS General Assembly opens in Antigua
The Organization of American States opened its general assembly on Wednesday in St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, where for the first time its top leader hails from the Caribbean region. Albert Ramdin, a former number two of the hemispheric agency and foreign minister of Suriname, was elected in March and took over the reins last month. He faces many challenges, from the governance crises in Haiti to Cuba and Venezuela — and the OAS' inability to make a dent on those issues over the years — to the Trump administration's move away from multilateral organizations. While Ramdin's election has been welcomed by the United States, Washington did not publicly endorse any candidate in the race for secretary general. Still, the U.S. is backing a candidate for commissioner on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and is planning to address a number of issues with regional partners including illegal migration. The United States' delegation is being led by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who will find that Caribbean governments have their own concerns about U.S.-Caribbean relations. Ahead of Wednesday's opening, Ramdin said he would like to 'focus on the critical issues which are currently playing out in the hemisphere.' 'Haiti is foremost, but also electoral processes, democracy, human rights issues,' he said. 'I hope that Antigua and Barbuda will not only demonstrate a… constructive-forward looking agenda, so we hope to set a tone for that here.' Ramdin acknowledged that for a country the size of Antigua to host such a gathering 'is no small feat.' Antigua is among four countries in the Eastern Caribbean at risk of being placed on a new travel ban by the Trump administration, the Miami Herald previously reported. Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela were added to travel ban list last month. While new reports have suggested that the four Eastern Caribbean countries may be on a new list of 36 additional nations due to their participation in programs that make it easy for investors to become citizens, there are concerns that the administration is using the program to pressure the Caribbean nations to serve as third countries for undocumented migrants expelled from the U.S. During a recent meeting with foreign ministers from Antigua, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia, U.S. State Department officials refused to confirm press reports about the proposed travel ban. However, an official confirmed that the United States is assessing immigration matters and is particularly concerned about the Citizenship by Investment programs, which allow foreign investors to obtain passports. The 55th regular session of the OAS general assembly is taking place at a critical time for the agency, which continues to be dogged by questions over it relevancy amid serious governance issues in the hemisphere. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested that the OAS lead the security response in Haiti, where an underfunded security mission led by Kenya has been unable to stem gang violence. The violence has led to a record number of people having to flee their homes, now estimated by the United Nations at 1. 3 million. Wednesday marked a year since the first contingent of about 200 Kenyan police officers arrived in Port-au-Prince.
Miami Herald
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Why the OAS can't afford to be neutral on democracy in Latin America
When leaders of international organizations proclaim neutrality, it may sound statesmanlike. However, in many parts of the world not taking sides is the equivalent of siding with dictators. This is certainly true in Latin America, which is why statements from Albert Ramdin, who next week becomes Secretary General of the Washington, D.C.-based Organization of American States (OAS), are troubling especially to South Florida residents, many of whom have fled dictatorships. Ramdin feels the OAS 'must not become a force that takes sides,' when referring to the region's challenges in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, are troubling to anyone who cares about democracy, human rights and rule of law. The election of Ramdin, championed by China and member countries like Brazil, Colombia and Mexico that favor dialogue with dictators, brings a new, troubling approach to the OAS. While the new Secretary-General may try to adopt a position perceived as balanced, there seems to be confusion between ideological neutrality that avoids selectivity and clarity on the principles that the OAS is mandated to uphold. This means that contrary to what Ramdin said, the OAS not only can take sides, it must do so. The core documents of the OAS were adopted to establish the values of the multilateral framework in the hemisphere. Article 2 of the OAS Charter enshrined the promotion of democracy as a key purpose of the organization. In September 2001, the OAS adopted the Inter-American Democratic Charter, a comprehensive instrument to strengthen and protect democracy in the Americas. It established mechanisms that compel the organization to act when there is a serious alteration of the constitutional order that impairs democratic governance in a member-State. This last provision is especially important: The OAS charter only mentioned constitutional interruptions through the use of force, which doesn't reflect the modern challenge of democratic erosion and progressive autocratization by regimes that were originally democratically elected. Despite the existence of this framework, democracy faces tremendous pressure in the region, with several countries sliding into hybrid regimes with decreasing institutional quality. Favoring dialogue with dictators appears to be a sort of contestation to those efforts, under the apparent guise of a more balanced and non-selective approach. There lies the root of the problem, one that confuses evenness with a softer strategy that recognizes the tyrants. So what would an 'even' approach actually look like? Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela represent examples of authoritarian states identified with left-wing ideologies. They are the most oppressive regimes on the continent, responsible for grave and systematic human rights violations. The focus that the OAS has had on these regimes during Almagro's tenure is hardly arbitrary, but rather one that reflects the most serious and pressing challenges regarding the protection and promotion of democracy, based on the norms of the OAS. Yet, assaults on democracy are hardly exclusive to the left. The right-wing government of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, for example, has engaged in some of the most notorious attacks on democratic institutions in the region since the rise of Ortega in Nicaragua and Chávez in Venezuela. With military coups largely a thing of the past in the Americas, the OAS must put its attention to this type of democratic erosion, serving as an early warning system that calls out member countries when they undermine democratic norms and institutions. It is in this area that Secretary-General Ramdin could find the balance that he seeks, not one that underestimates the urgency of the region's major crises, but one that is able to point out threats to democracy no matter where they emerge, in which stage they are, or who causes them. Ramdin's call to dialogue thus is a double-edged sword. While it may open channels of communication, it risks catering to the dictators and their efforts to cling to power. Member states must insist that Ramdin uphold the OAS' own norms and principles which mandate the organization, its authorities and especially its Secretary-General to take a side. That side can only be the side of democracy and human rights faced against tyranny and oppression. Ezequiel Podjarny is a legal and policy fellow at the Human Rights Foundation.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In historic first, a Caribbean diplomat, Suriname's Albert Ramdin, will lead the OAS
Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin has been named the new secretary-general of the Organization of American States, becoming the first diplomat from the Caribbean Community to lead the hemispheric organization and taking over the role of from Uruguayan diplomat Luis Almagro. A former assistant secretary general to the organization between 2005-15, during which he made countless trips to Haiti, Ramdin, 66, has served as Suriname's minister of foreign affairs, international business and international cooperation since 2020 and will remain in the post until May 25. Ramdin's election to the five-year post came by acclamation at the beginning of the 56th Special Session of the General Assembly of the OAS on Monday in the presence of 25 delegates. Ahead of the race, he had received the unanimous endorsements of the 14 member Caribbean Community, and late last week he secured the support of Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombian and Uruguay. Ramdin was running against Paraguay Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, who reportedly pulled out of the race last week after being unable to secure the support of the Trump administration. The new U.S. administration has expressed uncertainty about the OAS and its role in helping resolve conflicts in the hemisphere. The ongoing debate about the usefulness of the Washington-based OAS, along with its unclear relations with the Trump administration. compounded by the crises in Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua, are among some of the immediate challenges Ramdin faces. A former Dutch colony, Suriname is located at the northern top of South America. However, it enjoys close diplomatic relations with the Caribbean and is part of the Caribbean Community regional bloc known as CARICOM. Made up mostly of former British colonies, CARICOM's full membership also includes Haiti and the only non-independent nation, the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. A representative of Suriname said in a statement that Ramdin's ascension not only represents a milestone in the history of the OAS, it 'reflects a reaffirmation' of the shared commitments to democracy, human rights, security and development across the Americas. It also adds a new and important element to the diverse political landscape in the Western Hemisphere. 'Today comes into reality the first time the Caribbean Community member states after more than 45 years of membership occupy the highest position in this hemispheric body,' said Stanley Raghoebarsing, Suriname's minister of finance and planning. Ramdin's unanimous support from the Caribbean Community's and of other countries in Central and South America, along with the endorsement of his president, Chandrikapersad 'Chan' Santokhi, underscore 'the confidence placed in his leadership,' Raghoebarsing read from prepared remarks 'The unity and strong commitment that accompanied this endorsement have laid an important foundation for the election by acclamation today,' he said. 'CARICOM brings rich experience and achievements to this hemisphere in terms of democracy, democratic governance, the rule of law, human rights and in many other areas that go straight to the original goals and purpose of this hemispheric body. We are convinced that the new secretary general will benefit from these important developments and strengthen the inter-American relations to the benefit of all.' In his campaign for the OAS post, Ramdin advocated cross-border collaboration and talked about the OAS doing more to address post-COVID-19 uncertainties and issues like crime, migration and economic development. He wanted to see the agency be 'very motivated and inspired,' he told the Miami Herald. In a congratulatory statement, the Caribbean Community's foreign ministers said Ramdin's historic election 'reflects the confidence of member states in his abilities. 'With a career distinguished by extensive experience in foreign policy and diplomacy, including a previous tenure as OAS Assistant Secretary-General, he is well-equipped to guide the organization in addressing critical issues such as peace, security, socioeconomic development, democracy and good governance across the hemisphere,' the statement said. 'The Caribbean Community is confident that Minister Ramdin will serve in his new role with distinction, upholding the OAS Charter and demonstrating the necessary expertise to navigate regional challenges, thereby contributing to the shared vision for a peaceful and prosperous hemisphere.'
Miami Herald
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
In historic first, a Caribbean diplomat, Suriname's Albert Ramdin, will lead the OAS
Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin has been named the new secretary-general of the Organization of American States, becoming the first diplomat from the Caribbean Community to lead the hemispheric organization and taking over the role of from Uruguayan diplomat Luis Almagro. A former assistant secretary general to the organization between 2005-15, during which he made countless trips to Haiti, Ramdin, 66, has served as Suriname's minister of foreign affairs, international business and international cooperation since 2020 and will remain in the post until May 25. Ramdin's election to the five-year post came by acclamation at the beginning of the 56th Special Session of the General Assembly of the OAS on Monday in the presence of 25 delegates. Ahead of the race, he had received the unanimous endorsements of the 14 member Caribbean Community, and late last week he secured the support of Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombian and Uruguay. Ramdin was running against Paraguay Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, who reportedly pulled out of the race last week after being unable to secure the support of the Trump administration. The new U.S. administration has expressed uncertainty about the OAS and its role in helping resolve conflicts in the hemisphere. The ongoing debate about the usefulness of the Washington-based OAS, along with its unclear relations with the Trump administration. compounded by the crises in Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua, are among some of the immediate challenges Ramdin faces. A former Dutch colony, Suriname is located at the northern top of South America. However, it enjoys close diplomatic relations with the Caribbean and is part of the Caribbean Community regional bloc known as CARICOM. Made up mostly of former British colonies, CARICOM's full membership also includes Haiti and the only non-independent nation, the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. A representative of Suriname said in a statement that Ramdin's ascension not only represents a milestone in the history of the OAS, it 'reflects a reaffirmation' of the shared commitments to democracy, human rights, security and development across the Americas. It also adds a new and important element to the diverse political landscape in the Western Hemisphere. 'Today comes into reality the first time the Caribbean Community member states after more than 45 years of membership occupy the highest position in this hemispheric body,' said Stanley Raghoebarsing, Suriname's minister of finance and planning. Ramdin's unanimous support from the Caribbean Community's and of other countries in Central and South America, along with the endorsement of his president, Chandrikapersad 'Chan' Santokhi, underscore 'the confidence placed in his leadership,' Raghoebarsing read from prepared remarks 'The unity and strong commitment that accompanied this endorsement have laid an important foundation for the election by acclamation today,' he said. 'CARICOM brings rich experience and achievements to this hemisphere in terms of democracy, democratic governance, the rule of law, human rights and in many other areas that go straight to the original goals and purpose of this hemispheric body. We are convinced that the new secretary general will benefit from these important developments and strengthen the inter-American relations to the benefit of all.' In his campaign for the OAS post, Ramdin advocated cross-border collaboration and talked about the OAS doing more to address post-COVID-19 uncertainties and issues like crime, migration and economic development. He wanted to see the agency be 'very motivated and inspired,' he told the Miami Herald. In a congratulatory statement, the Caribbean Community's foreign ministers said Ramdin's historic election 'reflects the confidence of member states in his abilities. 'With a career distinguished by extensive experience in foreign policy and diplomacy, including a previous tenure as OAS Assistant Secretary-General, he is well-equipped to guide the organization in addressing critical issues such as peace, security, socioeconomic development, democracy and good governance across the hemisphere,' the statement said. 'The Caribbean Community is confident that Minister Ramdin will serve in his new role with distinction, upholding the OAS Charter and demonstrating the necessary expertise to navigate regional challenges, thereby contributing to the shared vision for a peaceful and prosperous hemisphere.'
