2. The influence of the society and culture of the Caribbean
on extra–regional countries has been identified in a number
of areas, these include:
Politics
Economics
Culture

3. The most organized group of the Caribbean nationals in
the US are the Cubans and they have had significant
influence on the US politics because of their number and
economic power. They represent a major voting bloc in
South Florida. They have been credited with:
“forcing” lawmakers to maintain and strengthen the
trade embargo against Cuba (key legislations the Helms-
Burtons Act 1996)
The creation of radio Marti, with the expressed
intention to undermine the communist system in Cuba
through the flow of information.

5. The political impact of Haitians is limited largely because
they are divided along class lines. In Miami, Haitians act
as a voting bloc. The Haitian Refugee Center has used the
issue of the ‘boatpeople’ to mobilize the Haitian
community and to bring a number of legal actions against
the US government.
The increased flow of migrants and the extent of narco-
trafficking to N. America and Europe from the Caribbean
have resulted in the enactment of more stringent
immigration and surveillance measures such as:
a reversal of a decades old policy on the repatriation of
Cuban asylum seekers.
increased cost to obtain visas or imposing visa
requirement on some Caribbean countries (countries that
enjoy Canada’s visa waiver are Antigua and Barbuda, St.
Lucia, St. Vincent, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados and The
Bahamas).

7. deportation to home countries of aliens convicted of
crimes.
the Ship rider Agreement that allows the US
Coastguard to pursue suspected drug traffickers in
Caribbean waters.
intelligence sharing and the splitting of proceeds
from successful indictment of drug traffickers.

8. Caribbean people are found in many countries around the world.
Their presence impacts immensely on the culture on the host
countries.
The large presence of Cubans living in Florida for example provides
a powerful pressure to lobby the US government to formulate
policies designed to destabilize the Fidel Castro led communist
regime of Cuba. It seems as though these Cubans have deliberately
taken up residence as close to Cuba as possible so as to remain a
political force in pursuing the end of Castro’s communist reign.
Haitians also live in Florida however their illegal entry has become
a little disturbing for the us immigration authorities and so has
caused them to tighten their security. This has become an
international issue forcing the us to be more accommodating and so
significantly influencing its immigration and foreign policies towards
refugees.

10. Wherever Caribbean people reside there have always
been issues affecting them. There large numbers
provide political votes that will be sought after
prospective political representatives and so are
therefore able to influence their domestic politics to
further their interests in these metropolis cities. Many
of these issues involve immigration policies, refugee
status, deportation, work permits etc. Canada has
recently changed its immigration policies to
accommodate the large number of Trinbagonians staying
there and so an expensive visa and an interview will be
needed to be obtained unlike before where none of this
existed.

11. The Caribbean depends heavily on extra-regional
countries particularly the US for its economic survival.
Nevertheless, it has positively influenced the larger
economies in areas such as:
trade: the Caribbean is the 10th largest importer of US
goods and services and created thousands of jobs in
export businesses (Mohammed 2007).
festivals: thousands of jobs and millions of dollar and
pounds in revenues are generated from the Caribbean-
derived Nottinghill Carnival in London and Canada’s
Caribbean.
labour: there are formal government to government
arrangements under which Caribbean nationals provide
service in the agricultural and domestic work sectors

15. Caribbean people provide both skilled and low skilled
labour abroad and so contributes to the development
of the economy and as well there have been increase
remitting of foreign goods so the economy abroad has
been growing but at the expense of the Caribbean
economy. There has also been an increase in money
laundering and drug trafficking.

16. Caribbean cultural forms and expressions have
penetrated international markets and gained
acceptance. The impact of Caribbean music largely
reggae and to some extent soca, is felt mainly in the
urban centers of large cities such as New York and
London. Reggae has been used to:
omarket Levi jeans (Bombastic)
ocreate an online course ‘ The Rhetoric of Reggae’ at
the University of Vermont.

18. Reggae has been the vehicle that transported
Rastafarian beliefs and lifestyle to the wider world.
Rastafarian communities and reggae are to be found on
every continent.
The steel-pan was also transported to developed
countries with the migrants. Currently, in N.America
steel-band music is part of the curriculum, while the
tuning of pan is a growing skill that has the potential to
contribute to the economic development of this region.
One association, Pan European, is assuming the
responsibility for creating a network to promote the
development of pan in Europe. The steel-pan is also
incorporated into forms of music like rap.

20. Caribbean cuisine competes with those of other ethnic
groups in the urban centers in metropolitan countries.
While companies like Golden Crust and Caribbean Food
Delight have become big business in the US, Caribbean
food caters mainly to the taste of Caribbean populations
but remains a specialty to native populations particularly
those who have visited the Caribbean or who have close
association with Caribbean nationals.