St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Godwin Friday said his government did not authorize a U.S. strike in local waters that killed three people, and that his administration learned of the incident through reports circulating online. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Friday said there had been “no direct communication” with respect to the strikes with St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which he said raised concerns across the Caribbean about safety for people going about their normal business in the region’s waters.
Friday said his government found out about the Feb. 13 strike through social media and online reports. He said Caribbean leaders discussed the issue after considering “the risk that it poses potentially to our people going about their normal business,” and warned that people operating in the waters want assurances they are safe.
The U.S. military said three people were killed in the strikes, but did not confirm their identities. Friday said Caribbean leaders met recently to discuss security and safety concerns tied to U.S. drone strikes conducted “in our waters,” and he described the matter as one the region had decided to treat seriously.
Friday said the strikes began in early September and that they have killed at least 151 people as the Trump administration targets what it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels. He said Caribbean leaders who met last week in St. Kitts for a regional summit where U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended agreed that the issue “will affect all of us,” and they planned to take the concern to U.S. authorities.
Relatives of a boat captain from St. Lucia told The Associated Press they believe Ricky Joseph, a 35-year-old father of four, was killed in the strike. They said he remains missing and that he had departed in a boat like the one shown after the strike in pictures posted on social media. The account highlights the uncertainty surrounding identities in the aftermath of the U.S. strikes, while Friday said the Caribbean’s priority is direct communication and safety standards for those who use the sea.
Friday also said he discussed with Rubio the possibility of using St. Vincent and other Caribbean nations as transit points for migrants intercepted at the U.S. southern border, pending their repatriation to countries of origin. He said he told the U.S. side that any such transit program for a country “with our limitations” must be “clearly defined, transparent and manageable,” and he requested data on the number of people who would be in transit and the time frames spent at transit points.
He said he also questioned what the legal status would be for migrants while they are in Caribbean countries and what would happen if they cannot be repatriated. Friday said he described the aim as a coordinated approach, while noting there is free movement of people within the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.
Friday said Caribbean leaders at the same summit agreed to send humanitarian assistance to Cuba to “help to ease the current dire situation,” with the effort coordinated by the secretariat of Caricom, a 15-member regional trade bloc.