United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Jamaica yesterday in a high-profile visit, which signals a turning point in U.S.-Jamaica relations.
Rubio indicated to Jamaica’s Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness it was time for the United States to review its safety and security travel alerts against Jamaica. He praised Jamaica’s security improvements, characterizing them as “one of the highest numbers, in terms of reductions in murder, which we’ve seen of any country in the region.” He promised to have the current travel advisory evaluated.
This may confirm what some in Jamaica said for a year, specifically after the U.S. slammed travel advisories on Jamaica and other Caribbean countries under the Biden administration.
Rubio’s statement, also reaffirmed at a joint press conference, is excellent news for Jamaica’s growing travel and tourism industry and for US visitors who may soon again travel to Jamaica without the U.S. government telling them it may not be safe. The United States is Jamaica’s most significant tourism source market.
“I think we need to analyze that and just ensure that the status we’re currently in accurately reflects the status quo and takes into account the progress you’ve already made this year and last year.”, Rubio said at the joint press conference.
Notably, this comes at a time when Jamaica has worked hard to become less dependent on visitors from the U.S.
Just yesterday, a proud Edmund Bartlett, the tourism minister for Jamaica, announced a direct code-share air link on Emirates from Dubai, opening Jamaica and the Caribbean to high-spending visitors from the Gulf region, India, Africa, and beyond.
Jamaica needs direct air links to bypass strict U.S. transit visa requirements. It has been successful with Condor, Edelweiss, Virgin, connecting to Europe, LATAM, and COPA, connecting this Caribbean Island State with Latin America, including potential markets in Brazil.
Rubio’s visit marks a significant diplomatic milestone, as he becomes only the fifth US Secretary of State to visit Jamaica in the past 14 years. His predecessors include Hillary Clinton (January 2010 and June 2011), Rex Tillerson (February 2018), Mike Pompeo (January 2020), and most recently, Antony Blinken in May 2024.
With China very active in the Caribbean, it’s time for the U.S. to offer economic cooperation, which will also extend to energy. Rubio highlighted the potential availability of Liquified Natural Gas as a primary source of clean and affordable energy to drive Jamaica’s manufacturing ambitions.
This energy partnership aligns strategically with Jamaica’s vision for developing its logistics hub, a point Prime Minister Holness emphasized in his opening remarks.
“The United States has been instrumental in supporting Jamaica’s efforts to bolster its marine domain awareness and intelligence surveillance capacities, which are crucial in our fight against organized criminal networks. We discussed expanding and repurposing development assistance towards our shared goals, including security,” stated Dr. Holness.