US official laments falling American influence
in region
Trinidad
Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
04 22 07
The United States neglects its Caribbean neighbours
and is losing influence in the region to China
and Venezuela, a US congressman visiting the islands
said yesterday.
US
Rep Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat and chairman
of the House International Relations subcommittee
on the Western Hemisphere, said officials in Grenada
and T&T feel Washington ignores the region
and are looking elsewhere for investment and aid.
“The people there are begging us to be engaged.
By our neglect, other countries operating in their
own self-interest will move in and fill the void,” Engel
told The Associated Press by phone from Trinidad.
During a four-day Caribbean trip, Engel and four
other congressional Democrats met with Trinidadian
Prime Minister Patrick Manning and toured a Grenada
medical school that draws a large number of US
students.
The other members of the delegation were Maxine
Waters and Barbara Lee of California; Sheila Jackson
Lee of Texas and Yvette Clarke of New York.
In Grenada, the delegation stopped by a US$40
million cricket stadium financed by China and rebuilt
by Chinese workers after it was damaged in a 2004
hurricane.
“They built the whole place. They’re
moving in,” said Engel, whose Bronx district
is home to thousands of Caribbean immigrants.
US aid to the Caribbean declined by more than
a third in the 1990s and stayed low for most of
this decade, the Congressional Research Service
reported in 2005.
Though
funding has risen since—the White
House requested US$316 million in 2006—the
majority of that assistance goes to Haiti.
Meanwhile,
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has gained
popularity offering low-cost, long-term financing
for oil. China has dramatically increased investment
in the region and recently asked to join the Inter-American
Development Bank, a move the United States supports.
Chavez
received a warm reception when he visited Haiti
last month. And in March, Dominican Republic
President Leonel Fernandez—usually seen as
a US ally—chastised Washington for having
abandoned his country in its fight against surging
cocaine traffic.
Trinidad
Guardian
Tuesday 17th April, 2007
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©2007 Trinidad Guardian. All Rights Reserved.
