ANTIGUANS OPPOSED TO PM GASTON BROWNE'S PLAN TO CONTINUE CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAM PLAN TO OPENLY PROTEST AND DISRUPT UPCOMING COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING (CHOGM)

Information received from a reliable source within Antigua & Barbuda has led observers to conclude that certain elements in the country, upset that Prime Minister GARSON BROWNE is openly defying the orders of the European Union, regarding the phased cancellation of the country's beleaguered Citizenship by Investment (CIP) economic passport sales program, plan to conduct peaceful protests during the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of State (CHOGM) Meeting, November 1-4, 2026. Whether their actions will disrupt the conference itself is not known. 

There is no further information available, regarding details of the planned protests; it is not known whether the organizers are members or leaders of the Opposition, the United Progressive Party, also known as UPP, or a non-political, private group of citizens. Antiguans are by and large, extremely upset with the ruling Labour Party government, whom they rightly blame for the imposition of major U.S. visa restrictions, attributed to American concerns about National Security threats said to be caused by the country's rogue CIP passport program. Browne's very public rebuke of the EU policy, which mandates the loss of visa-free privileges for any state that maintains an economic passport program after June 2028, has Antiguans fearful that the US will impose further Draconian measures for retaining the CIP program.

What form these protests will take is not known, but since any open display of opposition to Antigua's government will most likely be considered a breach of the peace, not to mention a major embarrassment to the host government, it is expected that there will be a heavy law enforcement response, raising the issue of insuring the safety of delegates and attendees to this very public event. Individuals planning on being at the CHOGM Meeting should be aware that protests may affect the schedule or security measures.

To further complicate the already tense situation, there are fears in Antigua that the Browne government has not complied timely with the first tranche of the EU order on the CIP program, requiring Antigua to cease to issue passports to any individual sanctioned by the EU or its Members, and to forthwith conduct only Enhanced Cue Diligence inquiries on applicants for passports. These interim requirement were to have been in place by 1 September, and we have seen no evidence that EDD measures are being conducted. The failure to institute either of these two provisions could result in immediate revocation of visa-free entry into the Schengen Zone by the European Commission, and possible further American action. 

As soon as any additional information become available, we shall immediately update our readers on the situation.

 

 

AS JUDGMENT DAY APPROACHES, HAMILTON RESERVE BANK CONTINUES TO MARKET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS; WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

If you are, like me, on the email list for HAMILTON RESERVE BANK, you have been receiving messages that indicate the bank is reaching out to new potential customers on a global basis, especially in the Middle East. Legal observers in NEVIS, where the bank was incorporated and is based, have reminded me that, on September 15, a number of the civil suits against Hamilton will come on for hearing, and judgments are expected to be entered. A significant number of depositors have been unable to access their accounts for years, and some have resorted to civil litigation for relief; other entities have also filed suit, on other grounds, and those actions will need to be resolved. Meanwhile, the bank continues to solicit new customers.

What will occur when judgments are actually entered in Nevis, we cannot say. In most jurisdictions, the failure of a financial institution to pay its obligations when due is the textbook definition of insolvency, which usually means that regulators step in an place the entity into administration, seeking to salvage something for the creditors, but SKN regulators have not, as yet, taken that step. Whether this exposes them to personal liability is an issue which will, sooner or later, be resolved in local courts, as is the relationship of the island's Premier, MARK BRANTLEY, to the bank.

We are anxiously anticipating the rulings expected on 15 September, as well as the aftermath. Will there be appeals by the bank, and will it be required to post a supersedeas bond? Will it be able to comply? Stay tuned, as we believe that things will get ugly shortly in Nevis.

FOR FURTHER READING:

NEVIS, WHERE THE OFFSHORE BANKS ARE HAPPY TO ACCEPT YOUR DEPOSITS; THEY JUST WON'T GIVE THEM BACK. WILL PREMIER BRANTLEY NOW BE FORCED TO RESIGN FOR THIS SCANDAL?

SAINT LUCIA MINISTER RICHARD FREDERICK, THE POSTER BOY FOR CORRUPTION IN THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN, SHOWS HIS TRUE COLORS

Cash being delivered to be smuggled into the UK 

 

If you are wonder what the still shots from a video are, they appear to show SAINT LUCIA MINISTER RICHARD FREDERICK, unclothed, literally throwing cash at one of his paramours. She apparently filmed the encounter without his knowledge, and the tape is now out in the public domain. Frederick, now under criminal investigation for diverting Saint Lucia government funds to silence individuals who have now accused him of sexual offenses, was allegedly using these victims to illegally smuggle cash into the United Kingdom. The funds, some of which came from foreign countries as donors, were intended to benefit Saint Lucia's most needy citizens, and the nation is in an uproar over the theft. The United States, the UK, and Europe should all push for the prompt filing of criminal charges, as it was their funding which Frederick allegedly used to pay for the support of intimate partners. 

Although the country's embattled Prime Minister, PHILIP J. PIERRE, has indicated that an investigation is underway, his direct involvement in the corruption means that any case filed will never go to trial, as Pierre and the Saint Lucia Labour Party are implicated in the theft of funds specifically intended to assist the country's poorest people. Too many government officials, especially Pierre and Minister ERNEST HILAIRE, will be exposed to their constituents, who recently reelected them.

Minister Richard Frederick

The scandal demonstrates how deeply official corruption infects all levels of government in the Eastern Caribbean states, and is a primary reason why foreign investment in the region has seriously declined, as investors fear that they will be at the mercy of amoral senior government officials, forced to pay bribes and kickbacks, and lose any properties they purchase to fraud, the corrupt local judicial systems that ignore the Rule of Law, and are in danger of trumped-up criminal charges, should they contest their fate.

The shame of the situation is further increased by the utter failure of the ORGANIZATION OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES (OECS) silence in the case, which is deafening. The OECS allows rampant official corruption at the highest level; in the absence of meaningful reform throughout the Eastern Caribbean region, its Members will continue to carry the stain of greed and avarice, and their dysfunctional economies will wallow in disrepair and neglect. If the OECS cannot condemn Richard Frederick, and others like him, the future of the region is dark indeed.

 

WAS THE RECENT ST. KITTS MONEY LAUNDERING CASE AGAINST PAUL BILZARIAN FILED TO PREVENT HIS EXTRADITION TO THE UNITED STATES TO FACE THE MUSIC?

Laughing at the USA all the way to his St. Kitts bank accounts

After all those years literally hiding out in Saint Kitts & Nevis, thanks to his Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passport, (purchased notwithstanding his extensive criminal history) why did the government there choose to file money laundering charges against the convicted and now fugitive American corporate raider who owes $180m to the United States? Most likely to act as legal interference, because jurisdictions rarely, if ever, extradite individuals with pending local criminal charges .

So, the question becomes whether the recidivist Bilzarian (or his SKN attorneys) engineered the money laundering case, or whether Prime Minister TERRANCE DREW and his Attorney General GARTH WILKIN were behind this legal charade. Bilzarian, who United States courts have ruled stole millions in the corporate world, and who has stymied American efforts to recover that money, most certainly enjoys a safe haven in Basseterre due in part to his alleged contributions to the ruling Labour Party, because otherwise, he'd be on a jet, in the custody of Federal Marshals long ago.

Indeed, perhaps it is time for us to reveal the identities of all the fugitives who have found safe harbor from the ends of justice in sunny Saint Kitts and Nevis. While we have, over the years named several of them, the full extent to which Saint Kitts displays its middle finger at the United States needs to be shown, and sanctions imposed.

MARCO RUBIO TIGHTENS THE SCREWS A BIT MORE THIS WEEK

If you were paying close attention to the news from the U.S. Department of State, you may have seen the August 25th announcement cancelling ALL the pending green card ( Immigrant Visa) appointments at the American Embassy in Barbados, which means that those in the Eastern Caribbean have just now seen another door to enter the United States slam shut. 

That means that all Green Card ( Lawful Permanent Resident) processing has ceased, on a worldwide basis. There is no information regarding when or even if, it will reopen for appointments. Coming on the heels of the restrictions on ANTIGUA and DOMINICA, it must be a disappointment to many in the region. What will be next, we wonder?We do know that a few visitor's visas for West Indians have been granted, but they are uniformly of the short term/single entry version, which makes many people who are thinking of applying and staying past the expiration date think again, and fearing the nasty deportation procedure, will choose to not apply at all.

The next blow to the ability of Eastern Caribbean passport holders may come from across the Pond; because on Tuesday, all five of the EC CBI passport-issuing states must ramp up their applicant inquiry programs to the functional equivalent of Enhanced Due Diligence, or visa-free entry to the EU could be abruptly halted. Let's see what Antigua's totally arrogant Prime Minister, GASTON BROWNE does with his CIP program, by 1 September, as I have my doubts that he will change anything with the CIU. Stay tuned, as the fur may fly this week, and Antigua may be the one left without EU access.

REZA ZARRAB, IRAN'S BIGGEST OIL SANCTIONS EVADER, GETS TIME SERVED IN HIS U.S. CASE; WAS JUSTICE SERVED? DOUBTFUL.

The biggest Iranian oil sanctions evader, REZA ZARRAB a/k/a Risa Sarraf, was sentenced to time Served in his SDNY case, which amounts to 22 months, which he served before being released in a highly unusual arrangement that saw him free in the US for 8 1/2 years. The matter was conducted quietly in Manhattan; no press announcement from the US Attorney's Office appears in its website, and media reports favorably described him as a "Key Witness," leaving it to the reader to judge why his central role in aiding and abetting Iran to sell its sanctioned oil for many billions of dollars on the world market.

After he rendered Substantial Assistance against Turkish targets for corruption and money laundering, Zarrab was freed from pretrial confinement in an extraordinary manner, suggesting that it was not U.S. law enforcement that he assisted, but our intelligence community, due to the circumstances of his release, and his subsequent operation of a horse farm and training center in the Miami area, seemingly free from traditional supervision. His 57-page Sentencing Memorandum was heavily redacted, indicating the sensitivity of his cooperation against official Turkish corruption.

Given his high level of cooperation, we understand why the United States Government deemed that he should not spend the rest of his life in a Federal Prison, but the twenty-two months he spent in custody does not seem to be a sufficient deterrence by any yardstick that is used to convince any other potential international sanctions evaders to engage in such damaging conduct. We justice served and did his testimony make a difference? HALKBANK got a pass, for purely political reasons, by the current administration, and his other cooperation did not yield any significant convictions. no wonder the SDNY Press Office did not boast about the case. Did Zarrab cheat justice?

FROM THE GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM:

OPEN LETTER TO SECRETARY RUBIO: STOP CHINA FROM MONEY LAUNDERING FROM THE CARIBBEAN THROUGH AMERICA'S LARGEST BANKS, WHICH IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER AND NATIONAL SECURITY RISK

Contrary to popular belief, It was not the American President James Madison who drafted the MONROE DOCTRINE in 1823, which bars foreign powers from any involvement in the Western Hemisphere. Then Secretary of State JOHN QUINCY ADAMS created that landmark policy statement; we note that he was to become President of the United States less than two years later.

Consider this a request for Secretary Rubio to apply its core principles to the present situation in the Eastern Caribbean, where Chinese economic, social and political influence has grown in recent years, aided and abetted by Chinese-owned and controlled Citizenship by Investment (CBI or CIP) sales companies, that through their efforts, now exert a significant amount of control over the five EC CBI states. This has now become a Clear and Present Danger to our National Security, literally in America's backyard.

for several years, Chinese CBI sales companies, in Saint Kitts & Nevis and Saint Lucia in the northern region, to Grenada in the south, have operated consultancies that sold economic passports abroad, to dodgy applicants who were never properly vetted, and with their illicit funds, laundered billions of US Dollars through the correspondent accounts of major American financial institutions. Most of that money ended up in China, depriving the intended recipients of sorely needed revenue who was designed to improve their developing economies.

For reasons that clearly involved politics, previous administrations looked the other way, and allowed the flow of an obscene amount of dirty money through American banks. Was it because such business was extremely lucrative, or because exposing our major banks to serious money laundering charges would embarrass political contributors, or even because our extensive trade with China might be affected? We cannot say, but the time has come to hold those individuals and entities accountable, be they Chinese, West Indian or American. for China has exponentially increased its soft power in the Eastern Caribbean, through the artful application of all that capital, bribing senior government officials, starting construction projects, building gigantic embassies, and expanding cultural influence. 

How to rein in this prohibited influence in the Caribbean, you ask ? The courts have held that the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 has exterritorial application, and it is worth noting that the currency of choice for Caribbean CBI is the US Dollar; indict all who are responsible, holding all of them accountable, which in 2026 is the functional equivalent of the Gunboat Diplomacy of the twentieth century Roosevelt Corollary of the Monroe Doctrine. Mr. Secretary, the ball is literally in your court.

IS MEHUL CHOKSI PROVIDING FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO SANCTIONED TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS TO GAIN LEVERAGE IN HIS UPCOMING $2b FRAUD TRIAL?

If you read my recent article, MEHUL CHOKSI'S INDIAN ATTORNEY ARRESTED IN LONDON WITH CASH; WAS THIS MONEY EARMARKED FOR TERRORIST FINANCING?  you are familiar with this serious new development in the unfolding billion dollar fraud Choksi scandal in India. Currently, having exhausted all the legal remedies available to him in Belgium, where he was detained, reportedly en route to Switzerland, Choksi will eventually be extradited to his native India, to stand trial.

Given that Mehul Choksi is not known to be political, the allegations surrounding his alleged financial support to a number of separatist organizations in India, including some designated as violent terrorist groups, are puzzling. Legal observers who observed how Choksi evaded extradition in Antigua and Barbuda, by acquiring a Citizenship by Investment (CIP) passport, and parlaying that status into a five year dilatory legal campaign, to stop India from securing him, believe that his new love affair with known terrorists is calculated to give him leverage with Indian authorities in negotiating a settlement of the charges pending against him.

Wealthy criminal defendants often seek to acquire something that will give them an advantage, and Choksi may be thinking of cooperating against his newfound terrorist friends, or promising to cut off the funding he is alleged to be distributing. We will be closely watching all developments in this case, which is not only a great public interest in India, but in the Eastern Caribbean as well, for Choksi's successful legal maneuvering in Antiguan courts was an abject lesson for the other four Caribbean states that offer Economic Citizenship, as it showed that, once an individual has his citizenship, he has rights and privileges which can be used to delay, or even deny, the proper administration of justice.

WHAT WILL ANTIGUA DO WHEN THE CIP GRAVY TRAIN RUNS DRY? LAUNDER DRUG PROFITS AGAIN, LIKE IT DID FOR ALEX SAAB MORAN AND NICOLAS MADURO MOROS?

Although Antigua's Prime Minister, GASTON BROWNE, has repeatedly declared that he will not obey the European Union Directive, and terminate his country's rogue Citizenship by Investment (CIP) economic passport program, by June 2028, the EU's stated consequences for noncompliance will be severe; the total and complete loss of visa-free entry into its Member states for all Antigua passport holders, CIP or native born.. That will make Antigua CIP passports essentially un marketable, as 99% of the buyers purchase them solely to enter the EU without visa application.

So what now, Antigua & Barbuda? If both recent history is any clue, a return to the laundering of the proceeds of narcotics crime through indigenous banks is the probable choice. It wasn't so long ago that the new-indicted Colombian money launderer for the Maduro Cartel, ALEX NAIN SAAB MORAN, named Economic Envoy by Browne himself, had free reign, using the two Antigua-registered offshore banks that he controlled, a government-owned bank, and the leading private financial institution, to achieve his goals. Financial pirates, every one of them.

Antigua's dark past as a center for American drug money laundering back in the period starting around 1980 is well known to people in my age group, but those younger should know that there was a reason that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) designated it as a Non-Cooperative Country or Territory (NCCT).

Of course, the whole thing may be academic, as two major American Federal criminal prosecutions (Maduro in SDNY, Saab Moran in SDFL) and one more in preparation for filing, could result in indictment of senior Antigua government officials, and cause the premature termination, with prejudice, of the CIP program. We cannot say what the future holds for Antigua, but it is not good news for the Average Antiguan, who will undoubtedly suffer economically, as well as otherwise, as 2026 turns into 2027; Stay tuned.

WE EXAMINE DOMINICA'S ECOTOURISM FUTURE AFTER CBI

Although most media is currently focused upon the economic issues surrounding the possible 2028 termination or modification of the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program of the Commonwealth of Dominica, many Dominicans see their country's future income stream coming from ecotourism, based upon its abundant natural capital. Government programs, international NGO support, and an entrepreneurial, environmentally conscious, community-based, innovative and outward-looking private sector, all are contributing to a future broad-based prosperity. We have surveyed a number of Dominicans engaged in these promising projects and enterprises, and wish to report to our readers on the status of several which we find of important interest from an economic point of view, and which we believe will drive a new and lucrative ecotourism business to the tropical island nation. Public-private partnerships, where government facilitates future tourism, could usher in a significant increase in visitors, for come for a specific reason; the country's natural resources.

The partnership between the Sperm Whale Reserve and Project CETI; Dominica has become a globally important center for sperm whale conservation and research. The Sperm Whale Reserve gives Dominica a genuinely distinctive, and unique, conservation asset, paired with Project CETI, which  brings together artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, linguistics and marine biology, in an effort to understand and translate sperm whale communication. An important factor: CETI is developing local capacity, through marine conservation fellowships, in collaboration with Dominicans. Beyond conservation this natural asset project has the potential to attract high-value tourism.

Coral Restoration and Marine Conservation; the coral restoration work associated with Oceans Forward, Nature island Dive and Simon Walsh, are prime examples of local citizens using science and practical conservation to protect one of Dominica's most valuable natural assets. Coral nurseries, and disease response and restoration work are a direct connection between environmental stewardship, scientific knowledge and the long-term economic viability of recreational diving and marine tourism for Dominica.

Geothermal Energy; Dominica's geothermal program, where its ambitious renewable energy project, funded through a number of sources, including the World Bank and other governmental development partners, is a significant development. Those contributors assist with prescribed procurement processes, environmental snd social safeguards, reporting requirements and external scrutiny. Global attention to this unique project will place Dominica in the forefront of renewable energy, increasing potential tourist curiosity. 

These are only a few of the many attractions that Dominica offers, and which can function as the replacement for CBI income in the future, should it disappear, although I believe that it could essxily be replaced by income derived from a Residency by Investment (RBI) program, where ecotourism is the driving force. Ecotourists captivated by all that Dominica has to offer will want more than a brief visit. make irt easier for them through an RBI program.

Some call this the Alternative National Development Model; where natural capital is a productive national asset - Adding up Dominica's whales, reefs, forests, rovers, biodiversity and renewable asset as a magnet for North American, European and Asian tourist business. It is conservation treated as an economic strategy, and it will work.

 

  

SAINT KITTS CBI PASSPORT HOLDER DAN BILZARIAN, LINKED TO HIS FUGITIVE CAREER CRIMINAL FATHER'S BUSINESS, RUNS AN AMERICAN CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARY CAMPAIGN BASED UPON ANTI-SEMITISM, CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND PURE HATE

If you are following Florida politics this season, you know that DAN BILZARIAN, the comical macho, gun-toting former poker gambler media figure, who generally is seen in photo shoots in the company of adoring women, recently ran a failed campaign in a Republican primary, seeking a Congressional seat in Washington.

While he may be a cartoonish, oddball character to some, in truth and fact, this Saint Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment (CBI)passport holder is a virulent antisemite who spewed his oral poison, as the main part of his campaign rhetoric, into the public sphere, openly seeking the votes of young American males, by tying the Gaza War into an anti-Jewish delivery that could never be mainstream in American politics, but which insulted the intelligence of the voters; his campaign was an utter failure. His campaign was truly the personification of evil, and it deserves to be summarily thrown into the dustbin of history, feet first, and discarded even in the world of radical politics.

The troubling thing is that we do not know what he was really trying to accomplish with his hateful effort. The son of the American career criminal, fugitive from justice and former corporate raider PAUL BILZARIAN, also a Saint Kitts & Nevis economic citizenship passport holder, he has been linked to his father's latest Federal Indictment, in the Central District of California, as the alleged beneficial owner of a company which his father used, it is claimed, to evade the $180m judgment the United States holds against Paul for decades.

Was this political campaign part of a deranged plan by his father gain influence in Washington, and perhaps gain a Presidential Pardon, or something worse, and effort to export antisemitism from Saint Kitts, to create a dissenting voice in Congress, on the part of China? Longtime readers of these articles are familiar with China's powerful influence in the government of Saint Kitts & Nevis, achieved through a Chinese-controlled CBI consultancy that dominated the country's economic passport industry, which basically kept the nation's dysfunctional economy afloat by funding the government's bloated budget.

Did China orchestrate this political obscenity, as an exercise of its vaunted Soft Power efforts in the Caribbean? We cannot say, but we will be watching the Bilzarians very closely in the coming year.

FOR FURTHER READING;

https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/convicted-corporate-raider-his-longtime-accountant-and-vaping-company-charged

NEW PENDING RESTRICTIONS THAT PRECLUDE EASTERN CARIBBEAN EXPAT CITIZENS FROM BRINGING THEIR SPOUSES TO THE UNITED STATES ARE BUT ONE MORE NEW RESTRICTION ON ALL FIVE CBI STATES

 

MEHUL CHOKSI'S INDIAN ATTORNEY ARRESTED IN LONDON WITH CASH; WAS THIS MONEY EARMARKED FOR TERRORIST FINANCING?

Choksi and Aggarwal 

Reports from London confirm that VIJAY AGGARWAL, known to be the principal Indian attorney for the fugitive $2bn financial fraudster MEHUL CHOKSI, has been arrested in the UK, with a large amount of cash, at his London residence. The lawyer, who was not authorized to work in the UK, has been linked to Choksi's British assets and reputed criminal network there.

Aggarwal, together with the controversial British attorney, MICHAEL POLAK, has been representing Choksi, who recently dismissed a civil suit there, against the alleged kidnappers of Choksi in Antigua, where he had used his Antiguan Citizenship by Investment (CIP) passport to evade extradition to his native India for five years. Choksi is currently in custody in Belgium, awaiting his imminent extradition to India, to face multiple serious criminal charges. A major issue surrounding Aggarwal is whether he is involved in providing financial support to a number of separatist organizations in India that have been designated as terrorist entities, meaning we are talking about allegations of terrorist financing, using Choksi's assets, to create political chaos within India. Is he looking to create a situation where he can make a deal with Indian authorities, in exchange for his cessation of providing financial support to terrorism?

We are continuing to follow this unfolding story, and will report back to our readers as more details emerge.

HAS THE APPROACHING TRIAL DATE OF MONEY LAUNDERER ALEX SAAB MORAN RATTLED ANTIGUA'S LEADER?

For those readers who are not aware of the fast-tracked progress of the latest Federal criminal case pending against the Colombian money launderer (and close associate of former Venezuelan President NICOLAS MADURO MOROS) ALEX SAAB MORAN, it is presently scheduled to go to trial in U.S. District Court in Miami, Florida on NOVEMBER 16, 2026. Saab is accused, this time, of being a money launderer engaged in an international financial conspiracy involving the concealment of millions of dollars tied to the Venezuelan government food import project known as CLAP, and oil reversal schemes that resulted in the illicit diversion of an obscene amount of money abroad for his clients. He was removed from Venezuela earlier this year, after the country's current president removed him from a major Cabinet position and turned him over to U.S. law enforcement, who took him into custody.

Contrast and compare Saab's situation with the 2027 trial date of Maduro in Manhattan, and one might now understand the pointedly erratic behavior of late of the sitting Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, GASTON BROWNE, whose conduct recently has been the subject of widespread attention. It bears mentioning that Saab, formerly Browne's designated Economic Envoy, is alleged to have engaged in major money laundering activities within Antigua's financial system, on behalf of his Venezuelan clients in Maduro's narcotics trafficking cartel; he controlled two Antigua offshore banks, and conducted a substantial amount of illegal money movement through two of the country's principal local banks, one of which was government-owned and controlled.

Given that Saab has a long and sordid history of cooperating with American law enforcement, to keep himself from the consequences of his use of the American financial structure to move and clean narcotics profits, and the proceeds of other criminal activity, legal observers in Miami believe that, as his trial date approaches, Saab will provide Substantial Assistance to the Department of Justice, to reduce the possibility that he spends the rest of his life in an American prison, and that such cooperation will implicate Browne, as well as several other senior government officials who worked with him in his laundering activities in Antigua. 

Since details of any such assistance will be sealed, so long as Browne and other Antiguan targets remain outside the custody of American law enforcement agencies, we will not be privy to such information, and will only learn of its existence after he has been arrested. Whether this will occur under the same circumstances as Maduro's removal from Caracas, we cannot say, but the threat of this occurring would explain Browne's strange conduct in recent weeks. Does he fear the proverbial knock on the door in the middle of the night by an American special operations team? We cannot say, but we will be watching.

CARIBBEAN CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAMS AND THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH

"We who Labor here seek only the Truth, " is posted behind the judicial bench in many of the courtrooms here in Miami-Dade County, and it came to mind when my recent article, covering a number of the infrastructure projects completed with Citizenship by Investment (CBI) funding, created a firestorm of controversy, from readers who wondered whether I had abandoned my two decade opposition to the money laundering, fraud and corruption that has long been associated with the administration of such programs in the five Eastern Caribbean states that have offer Economic Citizenship; That is simply not true.

To be blunt, my sometimes scathing exposure of financial crime in CBI programs will continue, but as I am a proponent of also complete disclosure of the truth, even when it might meet with disapproval in some quarterers, I chose to name the CBI projects in the Commonwealth of Dominica. Please do not ignore those achievements because the administrators of the program have allegedly been linked to corruption and financial crime. The statements appearing in the pro-investment migration press, to the effect that I am supporting those leaders, is not correct. In truth and in fact, I continue to be an advocate for a replacement of the corrupt Dominica Labour Party, as the achievements I have detailed have been accomplished despite the party's illegal diversion of CBI revenue, and other financial crimes, which is another truth.

Also, Dominica frankly sits alone as the Caribbean CBI state with a substantial number of completed projects; I have found that Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Antigua & Barbuda have few concrete results to show for all the millions of US Dollars that have found their way into government accounts; do not lump me into the category of those who are cheerleaders for those programs, which I have condemned, and will continue to call out as having failed in their obligations to fulfill the stated original program goals.

Given that the European Union policy on shutting the door to CBI in 2028, if there is a chance for the benefits of the Dominica program to continue, perhaps a transition to Residency by Investment (RBI) program could allow infrastructure projects to continue. As the EU allows RBI among its Member states, it might be the solution to the region's problem, regarding a substitute for much-needed government revenue. Whether this will come to pass, we cannot say, but the people of the Eastern Caribbean states must have financial security, and we trust that it can be found, in the short term. There can be no debate over whether that statement is absolutely true.