Energy, Migration Top Rubio Agenda On Caribbean Visit This Week

Weaning Caribbean countries from their dependence on Venezuelan oil and combating illegal immigration will top Secretary of State Marco Rubio's tour of three Caribbean nations this week, a visit that comes as the Trump administration increasingly focuses its attention on the Western Hemisphere.

The State Department said Rubio will push for the region to diversify their energy supplies when he visits Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname starting Wednesday, just days after President Donald Trump announced new sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports and threatened tariffs on all goods imported into the United States by other countries that buy oil from Venezuela.

Another main issue for Rubio will be the situation in Haiti, where a multinational peacekeeping force has been in place for months struggling to prevent gangs from taking over the country. Rubio spoke Tuesday with the president of Kenya, which is leading that force, although the State Department account of the call made no reference to Haiti.

"The challenge, obviously, is Haiti," said Mauricio Claver-Caron, Trump's special envoy for the Western Hemisphere. "And obviously, we all know and we share the deep commitment to tackling this challenge in Haiti."

But in a conference call with reporters Tuesday, he did not offer details on what the former Florida senator would suggest on Haiti policy. Rubio has extended waivers on an overall U.S. foreign aid freeze to continue to fund the security force in Haiti, but it remains unclear how long they will last.