Choosing Poison or Principle? Belize, Cuba and Donroe

and What is Happening in South Africa?

Sunday 7 June 2026 at 2pm London time

CLS Sunday Zoom meeting all welcome, but you will need to register in advance:
https://ucl.zoom.us/meeting/register/YVyjy4hzQ7GAt32Te3hWgw

Dylan Vernon will discuss the on-going diplomatic and economic pressure on Belize from the United States to discontinue the Cuban medical brigade and the response of the government and the people so far. This will be set in the broader context of how small states like Belize best face the dilemma of maintaining the principles of sovereignty and self-determination when a powerful empire flexes its economic and military muscles in the region. Do the states and peoples of the Caribbean get to choose their own poison?

Dylan Vernon is currently the Executive Director of the Belize Policy Research Institute (BELPRI). Over the years, he has worked in international development, governance reform and public policy influence, mostly for advocacy organisations. From 2013 to 2020, Dylan was Belize’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and several other European states. Today, much of his research and activism are related to promoting democracy and political reform, and to building a new solidarity group in Belize called Liberation 9/21.

What is Happening in South Africa?

There are many disturbing accounts of attacks in South Africa on immigrant workers from other African nations. Our comrades from Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) will give a report and explain what we might do in solidarity.

KAAX is a national coalition of civil society organisations, community activists, migrant-led groups, workers, and individuals who have come together to fight xenophobia, racism, and gender-based violence in South Africa.

Formed in response to growing anti-migrant sentiment and state inaction, KAAX exists to defend the human rights of all who live in the country, regardless of their nationality or status. We are a people-powered movement built on the principle of African unity, working-class solidarity, and inclusive justice.