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By Humeyra Pamuk and Sarah Morland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will discuss energy security in the Caribbean, illegal immigration and dismantling of transnational criminal networks during a trip to the region later this week, State Department officials said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a briefing, U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone told reporters that U.S. accusations about a labor program that sends Cuban workers, particularly medics, overseas was also going to be among the topics that Rubio will tackle with his counterparts.
Washington has threatened to halt visas for government officials in countries that receive Cuban doctors, whom it says are being exploited. In response, many Caribbean leaders have said they adhere to international labor standards and that the medical services Cubans provide are essential.
According to an internal memo seen by Reuters earlier this month, a number of small Caribbean nations with citizen-by-investment (CBI) programs could also see wider visa restrictions.
"CBI should not be a major part of these smaller islands' GDP," Claver-Carone said, saying these attract "nefarious actors from China, Iran and other countries into the Americas, which then becomes a security challenge for all of us."
President Donald Trump has floated a similar program, in which foreigners could access U.S. citizenship via a $5 million "gold card."
On energy, Claver-Carone also signaled Washington would support oil production in Guyana and Suriname, and that it wanted to "make sure that Guyana has the security necessary" amid a territorial dispute with neighboring Venezuela.
"That'll be where a lot of our conversations will be focused," he said of developing the region's oil output, adding that Washington does not see renewables as a substitute.
Despite producing few emissions, the Caribbean's high debt loads and low-lying geography make it among the most vulnerable regions in the world to the impacts of climate change.
Trump on Monday issued an executive order declaring that any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela, which has historically exported its oil across the Caribbean, will pay a 25% tariff on trade with the U.S.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Sarah Morland; Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler)
