CARIBBEAN TRAVELERS SICKENED BY MOSQUITO VIRUS—02/07/15
Many visitors to the Caribbean region return home with a mosquito-borne virus that has recently appeared there. The chikungunya virus causes very severe joint pains, but few physicians in the United States can recognize its symptoms. The virus began its spread from Asia and Africa in 2013 and has now infected a million individuals in the Caribbean, Latin America, and some portions of South America and Mexico. Over 2,300 travelers from the U.S. have brought the virus home after visiting the Caribbean.
CUBA VICTORIOUS OVER MEXICO IN CARIBBEAN SERIES—02/08/15
Cuba has won its first championship in the Caribbean Series since 1960, defeating Mexico by a score of 3 to 2. Its win marked Cuba’s return to its victorious ways in the regional baseball series that it had dominated before Cuban players were prohibited by the government from playing the game professionally in 1961.
BAHAMAS WILL HOST FIRST ENGLISH CARIBBEAN MEN’S SOFTBALL TOURNEY—02/09/15
The Bahamas are scheduled to host the English Caribbean Amateur Softball Confederation Men’s Championship in Nassau in March 2015. The nation hosted the women’s championship in 2013. The tournament is expected to draw teams from seven countries: Aruba, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas.
PRIME MINISTER OF GRENADA TO DEVELOP SINGLE CARICOM AREA—02/10/15
Dr. Keith Mitchell, the Prime Minister of Grenada, noted numerous “vexing” matters that continue to confront the Caribbean region as it attempts to create a single Caribbean Community (CARICOM). While addressing the 25th anniversary of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), the Prime Minister said that leaders in the region agree to work on the single-space concept between 2014 and 2019. The single space is meant to enhance opportunities for production and investment.
POLICE SEIZE ILLEGAL CIGARETTES, CLOTHING IN QUINTANA ROO—02/11/15
Over 1.5 million Asian cigarettes and articles of clothing were seized by federal police in Quintana Roo, a Mexican Caribbean state. The merchandise was not appropriately documented as required for entry into the nation, and so it was seized. A truck was stopped in the city of Felipe Carrillo Puerto and found to be carrying the illegal products in a special compartment.
CARIBBEAN AUTHORITIES SEIZE MILLIONS IN COCAINE—02/12/15
A joint operation between United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security, and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF) seized $29 million in cocaine and arrested 13 people on charges of drug trafficking during an at-sea interdiction. The seizure occurred off the coast of Mantai. Authorities found 2,176 pounds of the drug during the operation.
