WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT UPON THE CARIBBEAN'S PRO-CUBA GOVERNMENTS WHEN MARCO RUBIO CHARGES UP SAN JUAN HILL?

If you are not following military activities in the Western Caribbean, the United States has ramped up its operations there; American warships are plying in waters in the immediate vicinity of Cuba, and many experts believe that the Trump Administration, due to the urging of hawkish Secretary of State MARCO RUBIO, himself a Cuban-American, plans to effectuate regime change there,, with a military action of some type and scope, to accomplish this.

What the knock-on effect an American operation against an authoritarian Cuba with close friends in the leftist Labour governments in Antigua & Barbuda, and the Commonwealth of Dominica, we cannot say but given Secretary Rubio's recent public statements regarding what he described as leftist threats from abroad, I have no doubt those two Caribbean states will end up on the receiving end of his efforts. This is just one more problem, brought on by their continuing failure to reform their CBI/CIP programs before American and European wrath and response began in 2025, with the Presidential Proclamation restricting visas, and the EU policy decision, directing the end of CBI by 2028, upon pain of total loss of visa-free access to Europe.

Those two nations' citizens had better fasten their seat belts for a bumpy ride, brought on by their failure to unseat corrupt and arrogant governments, gleefully accepting their election day bribes, kickbacks and no-show government jobs. Ladies and gentlemen, you have sealed your own fate.  

The Yanks are Coming.

NICOLAS MADURO CASE SHAPING UP; HEARING TODAY TO SET TRIAL DATE

 

MONEY LAUNDERERS ARE PLAYING CHESS, WHILE MOST COMPLIANCE OFFICERS ARE STUCK AT CHECKERS

Just to show you how far ahead career money launderers think, as the moment Argentina's much anticipated economic passport (Citizenship by Investment) program approaches, laundrymen have been planning on making application, ever since they spotted Argentina's application to join visa-free entry to the United States, back in 2025. Yes, they saw this notice, and have been artfully creating credible profiles since then, in anticipation of applying around 2027, and waiting around for politics to result in the United States approving the application shortly thereafter.

Never estimate the resourcefulness of a career money launderer; having been one myself, in my misspent youth, I know how they think, and they will beat you every day of the week, unless and until you start thinking ahead, my friends.

ACCOUNTANTS' ORGANIZATION HAS REPEATEDLY WARNED THAT CBI PASSPORT APPLICANTS ARE TO BE CONSIDERED HIGH-RISK

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus, (ICPAC) the professional association for accountants in the Republic of Cyprus, in 2020 issued an Advisory to its members, warning them that applicants for CBI passports are to be considered high-risk clients, and specifically calling for an increased level of accountant scrutiny upon such individuals. The ICPAC document goes on to state that Citizenship by Investment progeams, by definition, carry a risk of legalizing money coming from corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, due to the nature of the applicant group that they attract, high-risk individuals.

The advisory goes on to note:

(1) The source of an applicant's wealth, and his funds, must be verified by audit, and in the event that citizenship is refused by regulators, the reasons should be substantiated and addressed.

(2) The purpose of these guidelines is to insure that anti-money laundering legislation is not circumvented when CBI services are provided to applicants.

(3) Particular attention should be paid to addressing all risks of possible money laundering, as well as reputational issues associated with the CBI program.

(4)  Uniform Due Diligence checks should be performed when accounting services related to CBI are provided, whether to new or existing clients.

(5) Members must ascertain whether the applicant has participated in any other Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) programs in other jurisdictions.

(6) Members should check the framework behind the applicant's CBI investment, to confirm that it will actually assist in improving the overall national economy.

These guidelines, while directed to accountants in Cyprus, provide a roadmap for any professional whose clients have applied for Citizenship by Investment passports in any jurisdiction.

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NOTE: I am republishing the above article, for the benefit of new readers.

COMPLETE TEXT OF THE NEW BILL IN THE U.S. CONGRESS PERMANENTLY RESTRICTING VISAS FOR ANTIGUA AND DOMINICA

NOTE:

(The U.S. Government Printing Office has now published the complete text. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on July 15, 2026.)

AFTER 30 YEARS, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS ACTIVATING THE ALIEN TERRORIST REMOVAL COURT

Apparently there was an application under this previously unused 1996 law. Where the Trump Administration is headed with this is anybody's guess.

YES, SEALED OF COURSE.

AMERICAN FLAG AIRLINE CANCELS EXISTING SERVICE TO ANTIGUA; IS THIS PART OF SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO'S CAMPAIGN?

I correctly predicted that the United States would, if sufficiently threatened by ANTIGUA and DOMINICA's improperly administered Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) programs, block visas for all passport holders from those jurisdictions, not just CBI passports. Given that Prime Minister GASTON BROWNE has very publicly told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, (and the EU), that he will not cancel CIP, I have repeatedly warned that there will be additional measures implemented.

The CBI states of the Eastern Caribbean all have economies focused on the cash flow generated by American tourism; that is an achilles heel, Mister Browne, which you failed to remember, when making your nationalistic public statements. Americans arrive via airlines and cruise ships. We see that JET BLUE, one of the principal American flag airlines serving Antigua, has now abruptly cancelled its scheduled service; alleging restructuring. We wonder, though, whether there was American Governmental pressure behind this corporate move, and whether cruise lines will now also rearrange their ports of call to avoid Antigua?

BTW, Secretary Rubio is now being touted as the frontrunner for Republican candidate as President of the United States. What will he do to get the nomination, we ask?

LAW INTRODUCED TO PERMANENTLY BAN PASSPORT HOLDERS FROM ANTIGUA AND DOMINICA FROM ENTERING THE UNITED STATES; RONALD SANDERS TRIES TO STOP IT

 

The Third World Immigration Moratorium Act, which was introduced by Representative Nancy Mace, and is pending before the United States Congress, specifically states that, in the Caribbean, citizens of ANTIGUA, DOMINICA and HAITI are to be permanently blocked from obtaining visas to enter the U.S., except under specific, and very limited and stringent circumstances. This new proposed American legislation, if passed, operates to make the present restrictions against Antigua permanent. The stated  reason, that ANTIGUA is a country of Identified Concern, tracks the previous U.S. State Department Policy Statement, that the country's Citizenship by Investment (CIP) represents a National Security threat to the United States.

Ambassador Ronald Sanders has already take steps to thwart the intentions of American legislators, by writing directly to the Members of the US Congress, claiming that official statements concerning Antigua contain factual errors, especially regarding its CIP program. Given the European Union's policy statement against economic passports, and declaring that there will be NO visa free entry to any country that has a Citizenship by Investment, these programs need to be terminated, and all the Gaston Browne-inspired workarounds notwithstanding, by 2028, or else.

As we have repeatedly warned our readers, things are about to get much worse for Antiguans and Dominicans, and they only have their shortsighted leadership, and themselves as voters, to blame. They had years to reform CBI and now it is surely too late.

SAINT LUCIA LAWYER THADDEUS ANTOINE ACCUSED OF BRIBING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AT SAINT LUCIA CIU TO APPROVE HIS APPLICATIONS FIRST

Remember Saint Lucia attorney and notorious Labour Party bagman THADDEUS M. ANTOINE? We published his photograph, giving out cash on election day, bribing voters to vote Labour. That's Antoine, driving around his staff, who were handing out cash from his truck, thereby committing organized election fraud.

Now, Antoine has been accused of paying bribes each month (USD$15,000), to one specific government officials at the agency that processes CIP passports. Several Citizenship by Investment (CIP) sales agents have complained that they are experienced lengthy delays in the processing of  Saint Lucia passport applications. Antoine appears to be the reason; his law firm is receiving passports significantly faster than other consultants, and his competitors  are publicly calling for an investigation and greater transparency in the processing of applications, so that all sales agent are treated fairly and consistently.

There are also allegations regarding the conduct of the officer assigned to investigate the matter. It has been alleged that the officer is accepting money or gifts in relation to passport processing while using government resources. These allegations have not been substantiated, and those raising the concerns are calling for an independent and impartial investigation. They are also questioning whether the investigating officer should continue in that role while the allegations are being examined, given that the Ministry of Home Affairs relies on the officer's reports. One officer, identified as Lionel, is allegedly receiving USD$15k a month from attorney Antoine to place his firm's applications ahead of all others.

Whether Antoine is ever charged with all the crimes he is known to have committed in Saint Lucia is extremely doubtful, as he is a faithful member of the Saint Lucia Labour Party and Prime Minister Philip J.Pierre. He should be barred from entering the United States, however, as he allegedly is moving the proceeds of crime into bank accounts in the United States, and facilitating the Labour Party's fraud, money laundering and corruption, and illicit partnership with companies controlled by the People's Republic of China. Additionally, all of Antoine's processed applications generate an illegal kickback to Minister of Investment ERNEST HILAIRE, so he is immune from criminal prosecution in Saint Lucia. 

$314 MILLION JUDGMENT ENTERED YESTERDAY IN MIAMI AGAINST MADURO AND SAAB MORAN IS NOT GOOD NEWS FOR ANTIGUA

The massive $314m default judgment entered yesterday, in US District Court in Miami, on behalf of three Americans unjustly imprisoned and tortured by the Government of Venezuela, against several defendants, including NICOLAS MADURO MOROS and ALEX NAIN SAAB MORAN, increases the probability that both of these criminal defendants will be forced to cooperate with the Department of Justice. This is bad news for Antigua PM GASTON BROWNE and his ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party government officials, as Moran's criminal profits were laundered through Antigua's financial structure, with the assistance and facilitation of Browne's government. 

Using GLOBAL BANK OF COMMERCE, CARIBBEAN UNION BANK, and two of Saab's offshore Antiguan banks, Alex Saab Moran moved and cleaned millions of dollars of Maduro's narcotics profits, and the profits of his "Sun"(Sol) Cartel. This huge civil judgment will only cause additional pressure upon these defendants to seek a settlement that results in a short sentence, followed by transfer to Venezuela. Such an arrangement will require both Maduro and Saab to implicate a broad spectrum of government officials and bankers in Antigua. We wonder whether Gaston Browne is himself considering offering cooperation, to save him from what could be a lengthy or lifetime sentence in an American prison.

WITH CBI ABOUT TO BECOME HISTORY, BRANTLEY'S NEVIS MUST CLEAN UP ITS OFFSHORE SECTOR TO FULFILL BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS AND CLEAR HIMSELF

In a detailed presentation discussing the challenges facing Grenada in a future without Citizenship by Investment program revenue, Nevis Premier Mark Brantley called for diversification in its economy, notwithstanding what he described as a small national population with insufficient human capital to support economic development. He would best look to his own nation, which with a population of approximately only 13,000, even with that of Federation partner Saint Kitts, still ends up at less than the 60,000 residents he deems necessary for proper expansion of a domestic economy.

Therefore, Nevis, which has like the others only applied CBI funds to covering a substantial part of the island's budget, and did not use it to develop a diversified economy, must now focus on its growing financial sector, especially its offshore banking, to ensure that there will be sufficient funding each year to pay government salaries and necessary expenses. The problem is that the island's troubled financial sector's issues are not being addressed, neither by Brantley, nor by the FSRC, the regulatory agency. Until and unless those important issues are addressed, Nevis' economic future is clouded.

If, as some observers have predicted, the gathering storm over Citizenship by Investment fraud, money laundering and corruption in Saint Kitts results in American criminal indictments of senior Kittitian government officials, clearing the way for Brantley to become Prime Minister of the Federation, but he must first extricate Nevis, and himself personally, from the offshore bank quagmire he faces.

HAS MARCO RUBIO FOUND ANOTHER WAY TO REIN IN THE GOVERNMENT OF SAINT LUCIA?

As we have often explained, one of the fastest ways for the United States to signal to a government in the Eastern Caribbean that it policies meet with American disapproval, or worse, are a direct threat, is to start to reduce the country's only lucrative industry, American tourism. The recent Travel Advisory, issued by the U.S. State Department, raising the Threat Level on Saint Lucia to Level 2, "Exercise Increased Caution," may be part of such a plan. Whether Saint Lucia's crime status has justified this increase, or whether this is simply Secretary Rubio wielding a Big Stick, we cannot say, but what if the latter is true?

Are things going to get worse in Saint Lucia? Will cruise ships cancel visits? Will American flag airlines cut back on flights, when reservations drop off? We will be watching for other signs America is moving against the economies of Eastern Caribbean states where corruption and financial crime, supported by government officials, or foreign policy allied with America's autocratic enemies, threatens National Security.

TWO STRIKES AGAINST NEVIS; WILL INSOLVENT OFFSHORE BANKS DETER FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?

The painfully visible financial troubles of HAMILTON RESERVE BANK and BONI (BANK OF NEW INNOVATION), which have soiled the reputation of Nevis as a trustworthy international financial center, may end up causing High Net Worth Individuals seeking a user-friendly tax haven to begin to avoid the jurisdiction altogether. The fact that the island's regulatory agent, the local branch of the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) have allowed offshore banks under its supervision to continue to advertise for new clients, while defaulting in servicing depositors by failing to allow withdrawals on demand, and in many cases flat out refusing them their money, has not gone unnoticed in the global investment community.

When you demand minimum seven figure initial deposits, and then take dilatory action when your clients request funds transfers, you not only lose the trust of your customers, but you place the jurisdiction which granted you your license into disrepute, to the extent that the business world starts to give it a wide berth for all intents and purposes. Whether these incipient bank failures will sour foreign investors on the local real estate market itself remains to be seen, but it could have a knock-on effect on demand and pricing.

Prudent advice to FSRC leadership, as well as the island's Premier, MARK BRANTLEY, who was influential in the development of the island's growing offshore sector, is to nip this problem in the bud, through assisting in fair settlement of the victims, directly or indirectly, before the international damage becomes irreparable. There is still time before repairs will be too little and too late, but that moment is fast approaching. My advice to Nevisian government leaders and regulators is to act now, if you want to preserve what's left of the goodwill you have with the investment world, but act quickly, please.

SAINT LUCIA GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OFFER UP MONEY LAUNDERING EVIDENCE ON CIP AGAINST PRIME MINISTER PIERRE AND THE SLLP, IN EXCHANGE FOR THEMSELVES NOT BEING NAMED IN OTHER EGREGIOUS CRIMINAL CONDUCT

In a curious development originating in the Eastern Caribbean, some senior government officials in Saint Lucia have reached out to American law enforcement, identifying both Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre and leaders in the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLLP) in a major money laundering operation that reportedly employed a CIP and drug trafficking scheme to launder criminal profits to themselves, in cash. These officials are said to possess incriminating evidence in support of their statements.

The stated reason for their proffered cooperation is a genuine concern that they will themselves now be identified as involved in a specific type of despicable criminal conduct, and their strong desire to stop this from being publicly exposed, which would seriously damage their reputations in the community. Knowledge of their commission of heinous crimes would taint and mark them in the small Caribbean island state, whose total population is only 180,000.

The fact that this first-hand information and evidence was offered up at a location outside Saint Lucia speaks volumes regarding their fears that their betrayal will not leak back to their leaders, as political homicide is no stranger to that island state. We decline to name which government agency the individuals who are seeking to parlay their inside information for immunity and anonymity, as they. might then be identified by longtime residents familiar with government staff.

OUR MOST NOTORIOUS FUGITIVE INTERNET FRAUDSTER, KRISTI ROSS, HIDES FROM THE LONG ARM OF AMERICAN JUSTICE IN NEVIS

KRISTY MARIE ROSS a/k/a KRISTI ROSS, called the Queen of Scareware, who controlled a rogue Belize-based Internet software company that defrauded a million American consumers out of  $163 million, who paid her to fix nonexistent and fabricated problems on their computers, has been evading the long arm of American justice, and  failing to make restitution by paying an outstanding Federal judgment in that amount, by hiding from the authorities in the Caribbean island of Nevis, part of the Federation of Saint Kitts & Nevis, for more than a decade. We are unable to confirm that she holds  CBI citizenship with a SKN passport, but believe that she does. 

The FTC Act monetary judgment against her, which was affirmed in appeal by the 4th Circuit, has never been paid, even in part, because Ross, who has been reviled in the Internet software industry for more than a decade, evaded justice by skipping out to Nevis, where she keeps close company with a cast of dodgy offshore characters who use the island's abusive tax haven laws to operate a bank which has reportedly been closely linked to the Chinese-owned CARIBBEAN GALAXY GROUP.

Ross's associates in Nevis include China-born bank investor BENJAMIN WEY,  and a local banker,  HOWARD A. LEWIS. Both are affiliated with HAMILTON RESERVE BANK, headquartered in Nevis, which should not be confused with other similarly named financial institutions in the United States. The Nevis-based Hamilton Bank has no offices in America; its only other offices are in Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.

The five CBI-issuing states of the East Caribbean, which includes Saint Kitts & Nevis, rarely if ever permit extradition of those individuals who have purchased CBI/CIP passports, so we must assume that any efforts to return Kristi Ross to the United States, to face any pending criminal charges, have been unsuccessful, but justice demands that she make restitution to American consumers for her fraudulent acts. Unfortunately, we cannot rely upon government officials in Nevis, who have allowed and permitted her to remain there on an indefinite basis,  to obtain justice for the victims.  Ask Nevis Premier MARK BRANTLEY why she is allowed to live there, given the circumstances of her massive consumer fraud.