The Organization of American States

This chapter contends with issues related to Jamaica’s membership in the Organization of American States. It discusses the rationale for joining the regional group in 1969. Jamaica considered the benefits of accessing financial and collective security arrangement available only for OAS members. These advantages were greater than some of the foreign policy challenges that membership in the OAS could pose. As a Commonwealth state, there was the strong possibility for lack of synchronicity of interests with some Latin American states who joined the OAS from its inception. This tension has arisen in the varying interpretations of the anti-imperialism agenda. Jamaica has responded to this through forging tighter links with the metropole, non-alignment, or compromise depending on the national interest as seen by the ruling political administration. So, for example, Chap. 13 explores the how the differences in policy and attitudes towards Venezuela and responses to the Trump administration have had implications for Inter-American relations and unity within CARICOM. Although Cuba’s membership and expulsion from the OAS predate Jamaica’s membership, Jamaica has generally supported its readmission to the organization. This chapter also discusses how Jamaica reconciles its view of an unjustifiable US trade embargo against Cuba and South-South cooperation on the one hand, with the reality of US hegemony. Despite Commonwealth membership, Jamaica has demonstrated its solidarity with Latin American States through its participation in the Community of Latin American States and the Caribbean (CELAC). Chapter 13 therefore contemplates whether the decision to participate in CELAC compromises its commitment to the OAS. In addition, it discusses the Association of Caribbean States and its significance for inter-American relations and regionalism. Finally, this chapter assesses whether Jamaica has benefitted from its participation in the OAS reference to the organization’s four pillars of democracy, integral development, multidimensional security, and human rights.