Prime Minister Phillip J. Pierre told reporters on Monday that his government had received no correspondence from the United States regarding a potential travel ban for Saint Lucia.
The Prime Minister was responding to questions about a report suggesting the US was considering imposing travel restrictions on Saint Lucia and several other Caribbean nations offering Citizenship by Investment Programmes (CIP). The report was based on a leaked US State Department memo obtained by The Washington Post.
St Lucia Times reported over the weekend that the memo reveals the Donald Trump administration is reviewing potential visa bans or entry restrictions for citizens of 36 countries, citing national security and immigration enforcement concerns. Besides Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis were also named. Grenada, despite having an active CIP, was not included.
However, Pierre said he had seen no such document. “When we met Marco Rubio (US Secretary of State), that matter of a blacklist never came up. All I can tell you is that there has been no official notification from the US,” he said.
Shifting gears, the Prime Minister stated that concerns regarding the island’s CIP were raised by one unnamed individual, whom he accused of collaborating with the opposition to create issues.
“We’ve been in constant negotiations, discussions with the Americans, discussions with the Europeans on our CIP programme,” he noted. “As we speak, there is work going on for joint legislation, all being spearheaded by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. We’ve always continued working to make our CIP a programme that’s transparent, a programme that is accountable.”
The Prime Minister said that his government remains committed to respecting the wishes of European allies.
“We respect their wishes and will do our best in all we can do to ensure that our CIP programme is transparent,” he said.
Pierre told reporters that recent changes to the programme, which may have raised concerns, were not initiated by his administration. He recalled that the programme was established under former Prime Minister and Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) leader Dr Kenny Anthony, in consultation with the opposition.
“There was a task force formed with the opposition involved and members of the private sector, which caused the CIP programme to be introduced in Saint Lucia in the year 2016,” Pierre said.
Further, “when we lost the Government in 2016, we had not issued one passport, and if I am wrong I stand corrected because we may have issued two.”
He explained that the SLP government had set strict criteria for the CIP, including a net worth requirement and a cap of 500 passports. According to Pierre, these safeguards were later removed by the United Workers Party government.
“We are willing to trim our programme in terms of making it acceptable. Because we understand the economic benefits of the CIP programme…our government will do nothing to jeopardise the CIP programme or the transparency in the programme,” he said.
The US government is too busy starting World War III to have St. Lucian travel plans on their mind.
The Zionists of Israel are keeping US citizens as human shields in Occupied Palestine, preventing them from leaving the country, before Iran retaliates for Israel’s aggression against them. Nary a peep about this from the US!
St. Lucians should be more concerned about a possible nuclear winter in a few days; of course, and pray they don’t survive the initial nuclear exchange so as not to experience the horror of it!
These rhetoric won’t fool us again.
We all know that, the CBI, Countries met with,Rubio, there were discussions and New legislation is being prepared for all the Island, spearheaded by the Central Bank, America and Europe.
I, urge these false prophets to stop the rumor mongering, because their attempts to destroy ,St.Lucia and rule over the dust shall fail.
@Nudge the Fudge….correct we are so on edge of this precipice they have no idea. We are facing very serious times ahead not only for St Lucia but the entire region. That Orange man is Amma Gideon. Politics in general in this his country right now is so wishy washy the external treats that are facing us is detrimental people don’t understand. It’s better this way let’s just go one living our lives until the first wave comes and it will be soon……watch the gas prices if the strait of Hormuz becomes a flash point Guyana Trinidad and Venezuela we need to have a talk but they might just want to hold what they have for their own economical consumption for their survival for how long….. no man is an island.