Stories about Caribbean
Yasin Abu Bakr, leader of Trinidad & Tobago's attempted Islamist coup, dies 31 years after failed insurrection
"Have you lot praising this ‘community leader’ ever thought about not only the people killed but the people living on after being traumatized?"
Key suspect in Haitian president’s assassination held in Jamaica on immigration charges
Details are still coming to light, but the suspect, Colombian national Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, was arrested in central Jamaica, and was being held on immigration charges.
On National Heroes Day, Jamaicans at home and abroad pay their respects to ‘son of the soil,’ General Colin Powell
Despite his reputation for decency and integrity, Jamaicans—and the Caribbean in general—had qualms about General Powell’s involvement in the Iraq War.
Peter Telfer, the Trinidadian percussionist who made African drumming a church staple, goes to his Creator
"I remember the first time I heard ‘O Creator’. It woke me up because [...] it was our rhythm, it was our chant, it resonated with us, a Caribbean people."
Jamaica forced to dump 55,000 doses as COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy persists
"Before [social media] those who were uninformed knew they were uninformed ... now [the] same uninformed listen to two fake news video clips [and] pronounce themselves experts."
Flower power: Rapper Trinidad James irritates compatriots with sneaker brand misnomer
The debut of the rapper's new sneaker brand, marked by a plethora of inaccuracies about the country's national flower, was followed up by an apathetic apology with additional blunders.
Hope amid scarcity and fear: Cuba after July’s historic protests
"Cuba understood that it had the right to have rights."
COVID Couture: Trinidadian creative Sonja Dumas responds to the pandemic with a feel-good dress that has a deeper meaning
"I made [the dress] to cheer up myself at a depressing and challenging moment of our human history."
Jamaica’s rivers and gullies are suffering from abuse
World Rivers Day may not instantly solve all the problems Jamaica's rivers currently face, but it may inspire citizens to be better custodians.
A sweeping spate of murders rivals COVID-19's ‘third wave’ in Jamaica
A sudden surge in murders—24 in one week, and 18 over a 48-hour period—has Jamaicans feeling that crime has surpassed COVID-19 as the country's top problem.
Former Surinamese president Dési Bouterse convicted of murder for the second time—but will he go to prison?
If Bouterse is not imprisoned after this second conviction, it will not sit well with many Surinamese who view him first and foremost as a murderer.
What's threatening Tobago's mangroves?
Large deposits of sargassum have been piling up within confined spaces, rotting, emitting noxious gasses, and destabilising the ecosystem.
From vaxxing to doxxing: The social media power of Nicki Minaj
After reporter Sharlene Rampersad pressed Minaj's relatives for an interview by implying their privacy would be more quickly respected by her local news outlet than by CNN, Minaj doxxed her.
Asking for a cousin's friend: The viral load of Nicki Minaj's vaccine misinformation tweet
The controversial tweet followed others that dealt with COVID-19 vaccination, including Minaj's announcement she would forego the Met Gala because attendance was vaccine contingent and she hadn't done “enough research.”
Jamaican activist filmmaker takes on extractive industries in the Caribbean
"In 2020, there was a very popular narrative that the COVID-19 pandemic was saving Planet Earth [...] I created GEFF 2021 to counter this narrative, because it is simply untrue."
‘You are more than good enough’
"I find I cannot be silent about the expectations, dim and punitive and repressive, we place on our nation's youth."
The origins of ‘liming’ in Trinidad and Tobago
"A most interesting ‘thread’ bringing out all kinds of intriguing prejudices (positive and negative) and biases."
A month after vaccine mandate protests, opposition figures arrested in St Vincent & the Grenadines
After the prime minister was injured during an August protest, a woman was arrested for the assault. Four opposition members/supporters have since been charged in relation to the protests.
Eccentric reggae pioneer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry dies at 85
"Jamaica has lost the rhythm and soul of a prolific music icon who has inspired many. Perry was one of the most important creative figures to come out of Jamaica."
About our Caribbean coverage
Janine Mendes Franco is the Caribbean editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
