US EMBASSY IN BARBADOS DENIES VISAS TO ALL SAINT LUCIANS APPLYING TODAY, INCLUDING RICHARD FREDERICK, A MINISTER AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, THE COUNTRY'S PARLIAMENT, AND ALL APPLICANTS FOR STUDENT VISAS

SLC Minister & MP Richard Frederick

As we predicted months ago, visas to enter the United States are today being denied across the board for citizens of Eastern Caribbean states that have Citizenship by Investment programs which sell passports through investment, and which the US Government considers a National Security threat.

Saint Lucia Member of Parliament, and Minister, Richard Frederick was denied a U.S. visa during a personal appearance at the U.S. Embassy this morning, according to confirmed information received by St Lucia media. At the embassy window, it was reported that Frederick informed the Consular Officer that he is a Minister of Government, only to be told directly: “We can’t issue you a visa at this time.” Further information reaching our sources indicates that all other Saint Lucian applicants were also denied visas during the same period, compounding concerns and intensifying public scrutiny over the morning’s developments. Applicants for student visas, for study in the United States, were also denied.

PM Philip J Pierre and Minister Frederick

No official explanation has been issued by U.S. authorities to Saint Lucians, but the reported exchange and the outcome have already sent shockwaves through political and diplomatic circles in the Caribbean, following on the from the White House that Antigua and Dominica have had major US visa restrictions placed upon their citizens. It is believed that al least four of the EC CBI states will soon be placed upon the Countries of Concern list, which will impose major economic restrictions upon them.

Given the public sympathy of Saint Lucia's most senior government officials for the autocratic regimes in China, Cuba and Venezuela, we wonder which leader with seek to enter the United States next, and be denied a visa and will their offshore bank accounts, especially those connected with Chinese corruption, be seized? We shall be updating our coverage of this developing story as additional facts become known. Saint Lucians are currently in a state of panic after the news broke, as they now understand entry into the United States has been blocked.