US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meet with leaders of Jamaica, Bahamas, Belize, Dominican Republic, Haiti, St Kitts, Nevis and St Lucia, and St Marteen January 21 and 22. Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados refused to join the meeting.

The later three charge that the United States is trying to create a wedge between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Twenty countries make up CARICOM. Fifteen are full members and five are associate members. Venezuela is a CARICOM observer nation. Cuba is not a member, but all member states of CARICOM have established diplomatic ties with Cuba.

The Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley explained "As chairman of CARICOM, it is impossible for me to agree that my Foreign Minister should attend a meeting with anyone to which members of CARICOM are not invited. If some are invited and not all, then it is an attempt to divide this region."

Nevertheless, Jamaica's foreign affairs minister issued a statement saying Pompeo was participating in bilateral engagements. "There is nothing unusual or divisive about such meetings. All countries, large and small, have a sovereign right to engage bilaterally with any other country, beyond any regional or hemispheric arrangements," she said.

While The Dominican Republic was represented at the meeting, it isn’t a member of CARICOM. In 2013, its application to join the regional bloc was suspended after a ruling by its high court stripped most Dominicans of Haitian descent their citizenship.

According to The Guardian, the meeting in the Caribbean comes a year after Jamaican, Bahamian, Lucian, Haitian and Dominican leaders in-his-handsly met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump promised investment aid in exchange for support of US interests.

Shortly after, the same nations broke from other CARICOM members to back Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as head of state. CARICOM officially recognizes Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela’s president and urges dialogue with the leaders of the opposition.