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The Trump administration’s “capture” and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States has sent shockwaves across the region. And now, his administration plans to “run” Venezuela until a “safe” transition is completed.

Legal and political questions raised by the case matter deeply for small countries like the Bahamas.

The issue is not only about Venezuela, but it is also about sovereignty, power, and whether international rules apply to smaller countries when global powers act one-sidedly or only in their best interest.

President Donald Trump even boldly suggested that Cuba and Colombia could be next. Some say his actions are designed to show the US as muscular to strike fear in the region and a reminder that the US is in charge of the Caribbean and Latin America.

“This is clearly a blatant, illegal, and criminal act,” said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame Law School professor and former assistant U.S. attorney.

For countries like the Bahamas, sovereignty is one of the strongest legal shields on the international stage. It should protect nations from foreign interference and ensure that no outside power can lawfully enter, arrest leaders, or conduct operations without consent.

Legal experts warn that if powerful nations normalize the arrest of sitting leaders without United Nations approval or host-state consent, small states could be left vulnerable.

The concern is that international norms no longer seem strong. Once those norms erode, smaller countries appear to lack the ability to push back.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, “The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line,” he wrote in Portuguese. “These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community.”

There is no indication that the Bahamas faces any similar scenario to Venezuela. The Bahamas has a stable democracy with strong diplomatic ties with the United States.

However, experts say the larger concern is the precedent the US has set, asking whether international law continues to apply equally to all nations or whether one country’s power increasingly supersedes the law.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took to social media, saying the country will not recognize a U.S. intervention “that violates international law.”

“Spain did not recognize the Maduro regime. But neither will it recognize an intervention that violates international law and pushes the region toward a horizon of uncertainty and belligerence.”

The Bahamas also faces a delicate balancing act:

• Maintaining close relations with the United States
• Upholding international law principles
• Standing with regional partners who call for no intervention

Historically, CARICOM nations have advocated for peaceful dialogue and respect for sovereignty, even in times of crisis. How the region responds or chooses silence could shape expectations.

A moment for regional reflection

The Nicholas Maduro case has forced governments across the Caribbean to examine:

• how safe are international protections
• whether power dynamics are shifting
• and how small island states should position themselves in an increasingly unpredictable world.

The Bahamian government has declined a proposition from the team of President-elect Donald Trump, which sought its cooperation in accepting individuals deported from the United States.

The big picture

This comes amidst Trump’s commitment to reduce immigration in the United States, a campaign promise.

The U.S. has long faced challenges in managing its southern border, and Trump’s campaign capitalized on fears of an “invasion” by migrants, whom he accused of committing violent crimes against Americans and vowed extensive deportations..

Why it matters

The Trump administration had reportedly identified several nations as potential destinations for deportees whose countries of origin refuse their return. NBC News disclosed this list, which included the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Panama, and Grenada.

The Bahamas’ response is one of direct refusal.

What Prime Minister Philip Davis says

A statement from Prime Minister Philip Davis’s office confirmed that the proposal, which involved the Bahamas receiving deportation flights from other countries, was firmly rejected.

“The Bahamas simply does not have the resources to accommodate such a request. The Prime Minister priorities remain focused on addressing the concerns of The Bahamian people,” a statement from his Office read.

State of Play

The Trump team has not responded to inquiries regarding the Bahamian government’s refusal, which has shed light on a segment of Trump’s plans for sweeping immigration reforms.

The implications of such a deportation strategy are significant, potentially leaving individuals permanently settled in nations with which they have no prior connection.

The terms of their stay, including employment rights, remain uncertain, as does the nature of any leverage Trump may employ to secure agreement from these countries.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s return to the White House means he’ll want to stand up an entirely new administration from the one that served under President Joe Biden. His team is also pledging that the second won’t look much like the first one Trump established after his 2016 victory.

The president-elect now has a 75-day transition period to build out his team before Inauguration Day arrives on Jan. 20. One top item on the to-do list: filling around 4,000 government positions with political appointees, people who are specifically tapped for their jobs by Trump’s team.

That includes everyone from the secretary of state and other heads of Cabinet departments to those selected to serve part time on boards and commissions. Around 1,200 of those presidential appointments require Senate confirmation, which should be easier with the Senate now shifting to Republican control.

Here’s what to expect:

 What will the transition look like?

Though the turnover in the new administration will be total, Trump will be familiar with what he needs to accomplish. He built an entirely new administration for his first term and has definite ideas on what to do differently this time.

He’s already floated some names.

Trump said at his victory party early Wednesday that former presidential hopeful and anti-vaccination activist Robert Kennedy Jr. will be tapped to “help make America healthy again,” adding that “we’re going to let him go to it.” Ahead of the election, Trump didn’t reject Kennedy’s calls to end fluoridated water. Trump has also pledged to make South African-born Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of the Trump campaign, a secretary of federal “cost-cutting,” and the Tesla CEO has suggested he can find trillions of dollars in government spending to wipe out.

The transition is not just about filling jobs. Most presidents-elect also receive daily or near-daily intelligence briefings during the transition.

Who is helping Trump through the process?

Trump’s transition is being led primarily by friends and family, including Kennedy Jr. and former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, as well as the president-elect’s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and his running mate, JD Vance. Transition co-chairs are Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term.

Lutnick said this year’s operation is “about as different as possible” from the 2016 effort, which was first led by Chris Christie. After he won eight years ago, Trump fired Christie, tossed out plans the former New Jersey governor had made and gave the job of running the transition to then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

Unlike the campaign of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s team didn’t sign any pre-Election Day transition agreements with the General Services Administration, which essentially acts as the federal government’s landlord. He has therefore already missed deadlines to agree with GSA on logistical matters like office space and tech support and with the White House on access to agencies, including documents, employees and facilities.

New transition rules

In 2020, Trump argued that widespread voter fraud — which hadn’t actually occurred — cost him the election, delaying the start of the transition from his outgoing administration to Biden’s incoming one for weeks.

Four years ago, the Trump-appointed head of the GSA, Emily Murphy, determined that she had no legal standing to determine a winner in the presidential race because Trump was still challenging the results in court. That held up funding and cooperation for the transition.

It wasn’t until Trump’s efforts to subvert election results had collapsed across key states that Murphy agreed to formally “ascertain a president-elect ” and begin the transition process. Trump eventually posted on social media that his administration would cooperate.

To prevent that kind of holdup in future transitions, the Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 mandates that the transition process begin five days after the election — even if the winner is still in dispute. That is designed to avoid long delays and means that “an ‘affirmative ascertainment’ by the GSA is no longer a prerequisite for gaining transition support services,” according to agency guidelines on the new rules.

Associated Press 

A police search has failed to yield the discovery of missing Chicago woman Taylor Casey so far, whose disappearance is a mystery and is making international headlines as the safety concerns for tourists visiting the Bahamas weigh in the balance.

“We’ve used our drone technology. We’ve used our K9. We’ve used our divers. We’ve used a number of resources, and so our investigations continue,” Police Spokesperson Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings said at a press conference.

Taylor’s family met with the officials of the Royal Bahamas Police Force after arriving from the United States on Wednesday to assist in searching for the 41-year-old woman who visited the Bahamas to train as an instructor at a yoga retreat center on Paradise Island.

So far, her phone has pinged in waters but police did not say if they retrieved it.

Skippings said, “We have updated the family where we are in the investigation.

“We have a very good relationship. They are very, very pleased with the investigations thus far,” she said.

PREVIOUS: What we know and still don’t know about the disappearance of Taylor Casey

Taylor has been missing for seven days and her mother said she believes her daughter is in danger because Taylor was eager to return to teach yoga in Chicago.

Taylor’s niece Traysia Conard told NewsNation Live on Wednesday that her aunt has been practicing yoga for 15 years and visited the Bahamas in February.

“She takes trips all the time,” Conard said. “This (disappearance) was an out of the ordinary.”

“Our priority is to find Taylor in good health,” Skippings reassured.

Newsnation Brian Entin, onsite where Taylor practiced and learned the craft, highlighted that other guests were arriving at the retreat center and were unaware Taylor was missing since no flyers were posted.

Featured image: Taylor Casey is seen with her mother

The Bahamian girlfriend of a man killed in Walmart, Lauderdale Lakes, said his killing is forever etched in her memory. But she will remember him for his big heart.

“Having a big heart that he has, he went down a hero,” Makia Ford said of her boyfriend Thierry Bastien who was identified as Haitian-American.

Ford, who is from the Bahamas but lives in the US, said she and 41-year-old Bastien were alerted to cries of ‘help’ from a woman while the couple and their children shopped at Walmart, Lauderdale Lakes in Broward County, Florida.

Bastien ran to assist the woman involved in a dispute with another Walmart employee who was not on duty at the time.

“I told him, ‘Don’t go,’ but he said he’s just going to help,” Ford told Local 10 News.

As Ford looked on, 22-year-old Tirone Sterling shot Bastien, though she pleaded with him to save her boyfriend’s life who fathered two children, including an infant she held in her arms at the time of the incident.

Instead, an angry Sterling stood over Bastien and shot him six times— in the leg, stomach and chest.

Bastien died in the hospital.

“He was all about family, working, and taking care of his family. It’s not fair to the kids. It’s not fair to me,” Ford said.

“He (Sterling) just took that away from us.”

Bastien grew up in a close-knit family with Karlise Honore, his cousin in Brooklyn. She remembers him as “big-hearted” and “charming.” Later, he moved from New York to South Florida where he founded a label company, CZF Da Label.

“If you met him for two minutes, you would feel like you know him,” Honore said.

Though many debated Bastien’s choice to interrupt a fight, Honore said, “In this day and age, your good deed might cause a negative result and something that’s harmful. I think it’s hard for some people who are naturally good-natured and want to see people protected. It’s hard for them to stand back.”

Maxine Pierre who is a friend of the victim said Bastien always defended him against bullies when they were children. “As a Haitian immigrant, I’d get bullied all the time. Thierry Bastien would stand up for me whenever he was around. He’d even walk with me on his way home some days.”

Karl Abellard echoed his sentiments. “He stood up for many kids in the neighborhood.”

Sterling was arrested hours later at an apartment complex and was charged with murder.

Ford said Sterling’s arrest will do nothing to quash the horror she witnessed. She’s forever changed.

“It’s the sounds that playback in your head. It’s the whole scene that plays back in your head.”

Donald Trump, 76, made explicitly clear his desire to seek a second term as President of the United States of America in 2024.

“Two years ago we were a great nation and soon we will be a great nation again,” he said in a packed room of supporters at Mar-a-lago.

This comes as no surprise since he has been hinting at a comeback for some time.

It also comes after many candidates he endorsed in the 2022 Mid-term Primary Election, lost their races. Some Republicans have openly blamed him for the losses.

 The big picture

Trump has been subpoenaed for ‘inciting’ the Jan 6, 2021 assault on Capitol Hill and is facing trouble for the mishandling of government documents. These investigations he has called politically motivated and has denied wrongdoing.

Why it matters

Trump’s announcement is an early bid and is believed to be done to distract and discourage contenders such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Former Vice President, Mike Pence, who recently wrote a book about his time serving with Trump.

Picture Credit: Getty

Foreign travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and tested for COVID-19 according to new rules established by the Biden administration.

The new system will be implemented in early November when Bahamians and other international travelers will only be allowed to fly to the US if they are fully vaccinated and able to show proof of vaccination before boarding a U.S bound flight.

White House Covid coordinator Jeffrey Zients said, “We will move to this much stricter global system, so we will have a consistent approach across all countries, it will require foreign nationals to be vaccinated, to prove they’re vaccinated, and then to go through the testing and contact tracing regiments.”

Foreign nationals will have to be tested three days before departure to the U.S. and show proof of a negative test.

The CDC will also require airlines to collect information for each U.S.-bound traveler, including their phone number and email address, to aid public health officials in contact tracing.

Why it matters

On the campaign trail, former Prime Minister Hubert Minnis announced that the USA would soon require only fully vaccinated travelers to enter its borders. He admonished Bahamians to get fully vaccinated to be able to travel to the US.

The Bahamas has already secured three vaccines: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson.

State of play

The US has not yet stipulated what it constitutes as fully vaccinated and what vaccines will be qualified for entry.

The new policy applies only to air travel.

The sobering comment by Former Health Minister Duane Sands has set off a public debate mixed with fury and uncertainty.

Sands on a local radio station, Guardian Radio, “The Hitback,” with Nahaja Black, said the heightened case of coronavirus in the country has placed doctors in a position to decide who lives and who dies.

The earnest reality of the pandemic has caused doctors to place patients with other life-threatening diseases like heart disease and cancer on the back burner, causing some to die.

With a high degree of certainty, the former minister said, “I understand the implications of my comment…that is happening now.”

Other countries have done the same

Physicians in the United States of America, Canada, and Italy have already been forced to make such moral decisions.

These countries have larger populations and the unexpected wave of the virus has filled their hospitals beyond capacity. Back in early March, Italy’s health system said there were too many patients for each one to receive adequate care. So, the Italian College of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI)  published guidelines that doctors should follow as cases worsen.

These patients should be left to die as they place demands on scarce medical resources, according to the document written by a group of medical doctors.

• Patients that are old
• Patients with comorbidities
• Patients who require intensive care

They are guided by the utilitarian approach which stresses the principle, “the greatest good for the largest number,” which would ensure that patients with the highest chance of survival will access intensive care.

Doctors in the Bahamas are reaching that point

When health facilities are full to capacity, physicians are placed in a position where they are unable to manage and provide care for a patient who may need respiratory assistance.

Dr. Nikkiah Forbes, director of the Infectious Disease Programme said she has not personally seen a patient die because of the ability to provide care, but the country is close.

“If we continue beyond capacity, those difficult decisions may have to be made,” she said.

Health workers confirmed that the Bahamas is in a surge and the system is being pushed beyond capacity, emphasizing that the ability to provide care in that environment is challenging.

While the government has restricted commercial flights from the United States from entering the country, the Bahamas remains open to private jets from our northern neighbour who provides the biggest tourism market for the country.

Passengers aboard private air crafts spend an average of $1,500 per person, which means one private jet gives as much revenue into the economy as 50 people arriving in the country on a commercial flight.

Like the Bahamas, Thialand is attracting private jet arrivals. Thailand said it would allow private jet travelers to visit without quarantine restrictions.

A recent analysis says flying privately reduces risk to the virus as business aviation employees on the front line interact with fewer passengers.

Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said although there is an exception for private jet arrivals, it comes with several requirements:

• A valid negative COVID-19 test  from an accredited lab. The Bahamas currently does not accept Rapid Antigen or Antibody (IgG/IgM).
• The test must have been taken within 10 days of your arrival date.
• The passenger needs to apply for a Travel Health Visa and upload your test.

Exemptions for American visitors include children under 10 years old and the flight crew, if they will be in the country for less than 24 hours.