And while Venezuela's Petrocaribe largesse may be dwindling somewhat - make no mistake it's still rolling and Barclay's estimates that in the past decade, Venezuela has lost out on over 50 billion dollars with the fuel supplies it has provided to its reginal partners under concessionary terms. Now that's much, much, much more than the United States - which is supposed to be the regional superpower - has given during the same period. But, now that Venezuela's petrol power is fading somewhat the US is positioning itself for a re-assertion as the regional leader. That certainly seemed to be the subtext to a US Caricom summit held in Jamaica yesterday. He's there to talk about his government's Caribbean Security Energy Initiative that encourages use of non fossil fuels - meaning less dependence on Venezuela. The US would fund green energy initiatives which meet its standards.
And to show his affinity for the Caribbean, US President Obama visited the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston and, in an address to a youth town meeting, made it clear that he is Barack in Jamrock:
Obama flew from Jamaica to Panama where he will participate in the Summit of the Americas.
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