International News

United States Blacklists 2 Venezuelan Officials Over Former Citgo Executives’ Trial
WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a Venezuelan judge and a prosecutor over their roles in the trial of six former executives of U.S. refiner Citgo sentenced to prison by a Venezuelan court last month. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it blacklisted the

United Arab Emirates Emerges As Hub For Companies Helping Venezuela Skirt U.S. Oil Sanctions, Report Says
ABU DHABI — In June, the United States imposed sanctions on half a dozen oil tankers managed by established shipping firms. It was a major escalation of American attempts to choke off Venezuela’s oil trade. Within weeks, a little-known company based in the United Arab Emirates took over management of

Biden Will Have A Lot Of ‘Splaining To Do After Trump’s Neglect Of The Caribbean, Latin America
BUENOS AIRES — Donald Trump was clear with Latin America and the Caribbean during his four-year administration — don’t do business with China. That message fell flat and was largely ignored in the Caribbean and Latin American region. As President-elect Joe Biden readies to enter the White House on January

Cryptocurrencies, The ‘Untraceable’ Cyber Money Preferred By Organized Crime … Now Is Traceable
MEXICO CITY — In April 2019, Mexican police arrested suspected human trafficker Ignacio Santoyo in a plush area of the Caribbean resort of Playa del Carmen after linking him to a prostitution racket extending across Latin America. Yet it was not the 2,000 women Santoyo is alleged to have blackmailed

Sandals All-Inclusive Resort Set To Open In Curacao In 2021
WILLEMSTAD — Sandals Resorts International said this week they have signed an agreement that will bring Sandals® Resorts to a brand-new destination, at the Santa Barbara Resort on the island of Curaçao. This will mark the ninth island destination for the brand in the Caribbean region. The new Sandals Curaçao will initially

Trinidad To Impose Stiffer Penalties On Trafficking Of Venezuelans
PORT OF SPAIN — Trinidad and Tobago said it would impose stiffer penalties on those trafficking migrants from neighboring Venezuela, days after a Venezuelan boat headed to the Caribbean twin-island nation sank, killing at least 28 people. A humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has spurred the mass migration of millions, including

Invaders Nearly Decimated Caribbean’s First People 1,000 Years Before Columbus Came, DNA Reveals
SPANNING A MILLION square miles and dotted with more than 700 islands, the Caribbean Sea was one of the last places colonized by Native Americans as they explored and settled North and South America. Archaeologists have long struggled to pinpoint the origins and movements of those intrepid seafarers. Now, thanks to

BIG KAHUNA BURGER?McDonald’s China Serves Burger Featuring Spam And Crushed Oreos
JIHAN — Just when we thought we couldn’t possibly be shocked by yet another bizarre fast food chain restaurant offering — remember Domino’s bubble tea pizza? — McDonald’s China has proved us wrong again. For one day only this week, diners were invited to gobble up Spam and Oreo burgers.

Trump Intercedes On Georgia Teen’s Behalf In Cayman Islands, Gets Her Prison Term Cut In Half
GEORGE TOWN — A U.S. college student who got four months behind bars in the Cayman Islands for skipping COVID-19 quarantine to watch her beau jet-ski just caught a break. Skylar Mack of Georgia — whose grandma had written a letter to President Trump asking him to help her granddaughter — had her sentence

UK Issues Travel Warning About U.S. Virgin Islands Due To 108% Increase In COVID-19 Cases Here
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The U.S. Virgin Islands saw a 108 percent increase in COVID-19 cases in late November. So many coronavirus cases, in fact, that the British government has warned its citizens to only travel to the territory if it is “essential.” And people arriving from St. Thomas, St. Croix,