News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. March 24, 2025: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to travel to the Caribbean again this week, but this time its for a series of high-level meetings with regional leaders of the Caribbean Community, (CARICOM), as part of a three-nation tour aimed at deepening U.S. engagement.

FLASHBACK: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a joint news conference with Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader at the National Palace in Santo Domingo on February 6, 2025. (Photo by MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Rubio will arrive in Kingston, Jamaica, where he will be hosted by Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and meet with a delegation of CARICOM leaders to discuss pressing regional issues, including U.S. foreign policy, security, trade, and migration.

Among the key participants in the Kingston talks will include Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who will represent CARICOM as a whole; Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Stuart Young, who leads regional security matters; and Fritz Alphonse Jean, the newly appointed head of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council.

Rubio’s visit comes at a pivotal moment, as Caribbean leaders express concern over worsening insecurity in Haiti, shifting U.S. immigration policies, false claims over Cuban doctors in the region, and potential economic fallout from a proposed Trump administration policy that would increase port fees on China-linked ships traveling to the United States.

“The meeting with Secretary Rubio presents a strategic opportunity to strengthen U.S.-Caribbean ties and ensure our concerns are addressed at the highest level,” said Prime Minister Stuart Young, who will be accompanied by Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Dr. Amery Browne.

Following his visit to Jamaica, Secretary Rubio will continue his diplomatic mission with stops in Guyana and Suriname, where he will meet with Presidents Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi. The two South American nations are both CARICOM members and emerging energy powerhouses.

Rubio’s meetings across the region aim to reinforce U.S. partnerships amid growing concerns that recent decisions – such as the termination of the Biden-era humanitarian parole program and the rollback of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and Venezuelans- could destabilize vulnerable communities.

Rubio first visited the Caribbean in February when he stopped in the Dominican Republic. He has so far said nothing on the crisis in Haiti, which shares the same island with the DR.

News Americas, New York, NY, March 20, 2025: For Jamaican-born entrepreneur and community leader Jenniffer Brown, a difficult childhood marked by personal loss became the driving force behind a lifelong passion for education and empowerment.

Jamaican-born Jenniffer Brown shares how personal loss inspired her passion for education and her leadership of the Westwood Old Girls’ Association in New York.

“I firmly believe that the challenges we experience in childhood can serve as the inspiration for us to do as much as we can to make the lives of others better. Because that is my story,” says Brown, President of the Westwood Old Girls’ Association, (WOGA), New York Chapter.

Brown’s journey began in Petersfield, Westmoreland, where she was born into a family of six. At just nine years old, she lost her mother, Joyce Yvonne Spence, to a long illness. Her mother’s dying wish was for her daughters to attend the prestigious Westwood High School for Girls in Stewart Town, Trelawny.

“It was, and still remains, one of Jamaica and the Caribbean’s oldest and most respected high schools, consistently ranked among the nation’s top ten tertiary institutions in academic achievement,” Brown shared. “Our list of alumnae includes Pan-Africanist Amy Ashwood Garvey, first wife of Marcus Garvey, and Iris Collins, the first woman elected to Jamaica’s House of Representatives, among others.”

Despite the privilege of attending Westwood, Brown’s years there were filled with hardship. “My dad migrated to the US while I was there and then my older sister graduated before me also, which meant I didn’t have my closest friend there anymore,” she recalled. “It was devastating to watch other students getting visitors and being picked up for a ‘home-Sunday’ knowing that we’d be stuck on campus like nobody’s children.”

Jamaican-Born Entrepreneur Jenniffer Brown Turns Childhood Tragedy Into Education Advocacy

Still, Brown persevered, excelling academically and eventually immigrating to the United States where she attended Pace University. She went on to have a successful career in legal administration, spending over two decades at the Manhattan law firm Weiner, Millo, Morgan and Bonanno, before becoming Chief Administration Officer at a cannabis law firm. Today, she runs her own business, JKL Productions, alongside partners Karlene Largie and Lesleyann Samuel, offering event planning and leadership training services.

Brown also built a fulfilling personal life, marrying her first love, Elorde “Lexy” Brown, and raising three children, whom she describes as “extremely proud” of. But something was still missing.

“Very shortly after graduating, I came to appreciate how much Westwood prepared me for life. I was able to work with and lead all types of people. I was inclusive and empathetic long before those became buzz words,” she said.

Her moment of clarity came in 2014 when she hosted a delegation of Westwood students attending a conference at the United Nations in New York. “That situation underscored the great need for someone—namely me—to re-start the New York chapter of the Westwood Old Girls Association to assist the school back in Jamaica,” she said.

She revived the chapter in 2016 and has served as President ever since. Under her leadership, WOGA New York has not only cultivated a strong relationship with the school’s administration but has also helped restore the visibility and reputation of the institution.

“WOGA New York has been focusing on donating laptops to the school since COVID-19, as well as erecting and equipping an AutoCAD (Computer-Aided Design) lab on campus,” Brown noted. “We recently became aware of the need for a second lab and better internet connectivity on the campus, among other issues.”

She emphasized that achieving these goals will require substantial support. “Resolving all this will come at a high price, thus the desire for sponsors, donors and compulsory fundraising. Growing the membership of our association also remains a challenge, but under our newly adopted slogan ‘Westwood Strong,’ we plan to go on an active membership drive in 2025.”

Through all of her initiatives, Brown remains anchored by one core belief:

“With all my heart, I believe that the greatest tool you can give to anyone is that of a good education,” she says. “And for young women especially, in the world we currently inhabit, it is vital because once it’s yours, it is the one thing that nobody can ever take away. It can literally set the course for your entire future. And that has never been more true than it is today.”

For more information on joining WOGA New York, contact 929-242-9156 or email woganyc@gmail.com.

News Americas, New York, NY, March 20, 2025: Caribbean-American Congressman Adriano Espaillat, (NY-13) has strongly condemned President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, warning of its dire consequences for students, teachers, and families nationwide.

In a powerful statement, Rep. Espaillat emphasized that the Department of Education was established to ensure equal access to quality education by providing federal oversight and support. “Abolishing it requires an Act of Congress,” he stated, highlighting the overreach of Trump’s executive action.

Caribbean American Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., has slammed the closure by the Trump adminsitration of the Department of Education. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Donald Trump has instructed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin shutting down the agency, a task that cannot be completed without approval from Congress.

Espaillat described the move as a direct assault on K-12 schools, higher education, and essential programs such as Federal Pell Grants and student loan assistance. These programs have long provided a pathway to academic and economic success for countless students, particularly those from underserved communities.

“Dismantling this federal agency will put equal access to quality education in jeopardy by increasing existing disparities and reducing accountability to support vulnerable students, including minority youth, persons with disabilities, and English Language Learners (ELLs),” Espaillat warned. He further cautioned that the decision would shrink job opportunities, weaken the national workforce, and harm the country’s global competitiveness.

“Education has served as the backbone of our country for generations,” the Congressman asserted. “We will challenge these actions in the courts and do all it takes to ensure this vital federal support for educational institutions, teachers, and students remains intact.”

Espaillat, a champion of immigrant and minority rights, reaffirmed his commitment to protecting educational opportunities and fighting against policies that threaten the nation’s future.