News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Wed. Aug. 13, 2025 – When the U.S. State Department issued its latest press statement on visa restrictions for officials tied to Cuba’s controversial forced labor scheme, it included a glaring typo – referring to “Grenadan” officials instead of Grenadian.

Grenada PM Dickon Amiss Thomas Mitchell

The error appeared in both the headline – “Visa Restrictions on African, Cuban, and Grenadan Government Officials Involved in the Cuban Regime’s Coercive Forced Labor Export Scheme” – and the lead paragraph, which repeated the reference to “Grenadan” officials. The release stated: “Today, the Department of State took steps to impose visa restrictions on African, Cuban, and Grenadan government officials, and their family members, for their complicity in the Cuban regime’s medical mission scheme in which medical professionals are ‘rented’ by other countries at high prices and most of the revenue is kept by the Cuban authorities. This scheme enriches the corrupt Cuban regime while depriving the Cuban people of essential medical care.”

According to the State Department, the program involves Cuban medical professionals being “rented” by other countries at high prices, with most of the revenue kept by the Cuban authorities. The U.S. says this not only enriches the “corrupt Cuban regime” but also deprives the Cuban people of essential medical care.

“We urge governments to pay the doctors directly for their services, not the regime slave masters,” the statement read.

Washington says the measures aim to support the Cuban people in their pursuit of freedom and dignity, and to hold accountable those who perpetuate their exploitation. The U.S. also called on “all nations that support democracy and human rights” to join in confronting the Cuban regime’s abuses.

The typo comes as Grenada and Cuba maintain close diplomatic ties, with Grenadian officials in the past publicly defending Havana’s medical missions. But for many on social media, the misspelling overshadowed the policy announcement – sparking both criticism and ridicule.

News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Tues. Aug. 12, 2025: The United States government has announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, better known as “Barbecue.”

Sanctioned Gang Leader Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier with G-9 federation gang members in the Delmas 3 area on February 22, 2024 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Photo by Giles Clarke/Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs revealed the offer under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP). The bounty is linked to Cherizier’s leadership of Viv Ansanm, a gang designated by the Secretary of State on May 2, 2025, as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

U.S. authorities say Cherizier is a central figure in the spiraling gang violence gripping Haiti and is directly tied to mass murders, rapes, and other severe human rights abuses against Haitian civilians.

Cherizier was previously sanctioned in December 2020 – alongside two Haitian public officials – under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for his alleged role in the La Saline massacre.

The latest announcement comes alongside the unsealing of an indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Prosecutors have charged Cherizier with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Authorities allege that he conspired to evade restrictions imposed by the U.S. in 2020.

His co-defendant, Brazile Richardson, appeared in court in Washington, D.C., today.

The TOCRP reward program aims to disrupt global transnational crime and bring fugitives to justice. Those with information are urged to contact:

FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI): 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form

Tips can also be provided at any U.S. Embassy or Consulate worldwide. All identities will be kept strictly confidential, officials stressed.

News Americas, LONDON, England, Tues. Aug. 12, 2025: The oil Rich South American, CARICOM nation of Guyana has become the only Caribbean Community country named among 15 new nations added to the United Kingdom’s controversial “deport now, appeal later” policy – a fast-track deportation scheme targeting foreign nationals convicted of crimes.

FLASHBACK – 15 activists enter Stansted Airport and block a chartered deportation flight on 28th of March 2017 at Stansted Airport, Stansted, United Kingdom. The activists locked themselves together near the plane in a secluded part of the airport. The flight was scheduled for Nigeria and Ghana to take 57 deportees, some of whom risking imprisonment and possible death in their home country according to the activists research. A number of the fifty-seven scheduled on the flight that night are still in the UK pending case hearings and at least two has since been allowed to stay in the UK. Without the Stansted 15’s intervention this would not have happened. The 15 activists were found guilty in December 2018 and sentenced February 2019. Twelve were given community orders, three were given a suspended jail term sentences. (photo by Kristian Buus/In Pictures via Getty Images Images)

The move means that UK authorities could begin sending convicted Guyanese nationals back to the South American CARICOM state before they have a chance to appeal their cases in person – forcing them to participate in hearings from abroad via video link.

London’s updated list now covers 23 countries in total, with Canada, India, and Australia also newly added. Other nations on the fresh list include Angola, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Uganda, and Zambia.

“Restoring Control”
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the policy’s expansion, claiming it will stop foreign offenders from “exploiting” Britain’s immigration system. “That has to end,” Cooper said. “Those who commit crimes in our country cannot be allowed to manipulate the system. Our laws must be respected and will be enforced.”

The UK Home Office says the changes will help ease the country’s overcrowded prison system. Official figures show foreign offenders make up 12.3 percent of the prison population in England and Wales, with 10,772 currently behind bars.

Guyana Link in UK Government
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy – whose parents are Guyanese – welcomed the expansion and vowed to increase the list further. “We are working to ensure more countries are willing to take back their nationals who commit crimes in the UK,” Lammy said.

Political Reactions
Opposition lawmakers have cautiously welcomed the move. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Even with this U-turn, only the Conservative Party is committed to deporting all foreign criminals.”

The announcement comes alongside broader proposals that could see foreign offenders deported immediately after sentencing – with lifetime bans on returning to the UK. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the aim is to send those who “abuse our hospitality and break our laws” packing.

The government claims the plan will cut taxpayer costs, reduce prison overcrowding, and boost public safety – but critics warn it could raise legal and human rights concerns.

By NAN Staff Writer

News Americas, UNITED NATIONS, NY, Aug. 11, 2025:The oil rich South American CARICON nation of Guyana has joined mounting global calls for Israel to reverse a controversial cabinet decision to take control of Gaza City by October 7, 2025 – a move critics say will expel thousands of Palestinians, deepen the humanitarian crisis, and effectively end the two-state solution.

Students of Birzeit University stage a protest for Al Jazeera reporters who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent reserved for journalists at the entrance to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, near Ramallah in the West Bank on August 11, 2025. (Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Speaking at the UN Security Council on Sunday, Guyana’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, warned that the planned occupation threatens not only the stability of the Middle East but also global peace.

“We, the Security Council, must respond to the fact that over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, and this number increases every single day,” she said, condemning any form of collective punishment against Gaza’s civilian population.

FLASHBACK – Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the UN and president of the Security Council for the month of June, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security at the United Nations Headquarters on June 13, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

While reaffirming Guyana’s condemnation of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, Rodrigues-Birkett stressed that no act of violence can justify what she described as “the mass displacement, death, and destruction now unfolding.”

Guyana outlined key demands, including:

Reversing the planned occupation of Gaza City.

Agreeing to an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire.

Withdrawing to pre-1967 borders in line with UN resolutions and the International Court of Justice advisory opinion.

Granting unrestricted humanitarian access to civilians in need.

The envoy also called for the release of all hostages and stronger protections for UN personnel and humanitarian workers operating in the besieged territory.

Two top UN officials echoed the warnings. Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, cautioned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push for “total military control” and an alternative civilian administration in Gaza could “ignite another horrific chapter of displacement, death, and destruction.”

“If implemented, these plans will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region,” Jenča said, urging full compliance with international humanitarian law.

Senior humanitarian official Ramesh Rajasingham warned that hunger-related deaths in Gaza are already rising, with humanitarian lifelines collapsing under sustained bombardment and insufficient aid.

The Israeli government has defended its military operations as essential to defeating Hamas, but critics insist the latest decision risks plunging Gaza — and the wider region — into an even deeper humanitarian disaster.

Over 60,000 Dead in Gaza as Israel Expands Offensive

More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, compared to 1,200 Israelis killed and 250 taken hostage in Hamas’ initial attack. The Israeli military admitted Sunday to deliberately killing Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif and four colleagues in a strike on their tent outside al-Shifa Hospital, bringing the toll of media workers killed to over 230.

Fresh bombings continued across the enclave as Israel allowed only limited airdrops of aid, while the UN Security Council met to condemn Israel’s occupation plans. Most members rejected the move, but the US defended Israel and blamed Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that seizing Gaza City was “the fastest way” to end the war.

Meanwhile, violent Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in the West Bank, including a village in Hebron, as soldiers carried out new raids and supported the settler assaults.