Today the CARICOM Heads of Government held the first working or plenary session or the thirty third inter-sessional meeting.
The major regional meeting is being hosted on San Pedro at the Grand Caribe Hotel. And while it has been overshadowed by a skirmish between Channel 7 and the Government Press Office - the meeting is a marquee political event featuring 12 regional leaders. Jules Vasquez tells us who's here - and what Cherisse Halsall did to try and cover the event:
The CARICOM leaders who have arrived for the first face to face meeting in two years are:
Prime Minister of the Bahamas - Phillip Edward Davis, who is accompanied by his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Frederick Mitchell.
Next on the list alphabetically is Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley - who is accompanied by her Minister of Foreign Affairs Jerome Walcott.
Dr Natalio Wheatery is the Duty Premier of the British Virgin Islands
And Roosevelt Skerritt - who has visited Belize before is the Prime Minister of Dominica.
And he is accompanied by Dr. Kenneth Darroux, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and Diaspora Relation
Grenada's Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell arrived at nightfall.
While Guyana's President Dr. Mohamed Irfan Ali is accompanied by his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Todd.
Haiti's Prime Minister Dr Ariel Henry is accompanied by his Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus
Montserrat's Premier and Minister of Finance Joseph Pharrell is accompanied by his minister of External Affairs, Alva Baptiste
Saint Kitts and Nevis is represented by Ambassadors Vance Armory and Lionel Osbourne
St Vincent and the Grenadines is represented by its Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel and Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar
Suriname's President is Chandrikapersad Snatokhi And Charles Misick is the Premier of Turks and Caicos
The leaders and their delegations gathered for breakfast this morning near the Grand Caribe pool in advance of the first day of meetings
Which is where Cherisse Halsall tried to get her standup done - just like she had seen a Caribbean colleague do. She fought for space to do just that with the director of the press office:
Cherisse Halsall
"Soh, why he could get his stand-up and I can't get mine?"
Mike Rudon, Press Office
"Cherisse, the media is not allowed. You see where the cordon is, that is where the media should be - outside of that. We will have the opening where we will allow cameras in there."
Cherisse Halsall
"I am not going to the opening. I just want to do one, 10 minutes stand-up in front of this Grand Caribe sign and I will be out of here forever."
After that Rudon called in the Special Unit Police:
Police
"Morning, ma'am I am Cpl from Special Branch, for security purposes, you cannot be here recording. As the man informed you. As far as I am concerned, you cannot be here."
Police
"Please leave, or we might have to escort you."
Cherisse Halsall
"I think it might have to come to that."
Police
"You have to deal with foreign affairs, they gave us strict instructions that you guy need to have some identification."
Cherisse Halsall
"We have identification on the shirt and everybody knows where we are from."
Halsall tried to plea her case and the back and forth continued with the police for another few minutes -
Cherisse Halsall
"Hi Jules, foreign affairs is removing us from the scene."
Rosanna Briceno, Special Envoy
"Hey, don't touch her."
That's the Prime Minister's wife, special Envoy Rossana Briceno as they unhand Cherisse, but keep pushing the camera man out - all the way through the lobby to the street. An unfortunate moment but the meeting continued and moved from breakfast to opening ceremony without a glitch
With Prime Minister Briceno taking center stage as the chairman and host.
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I hope that you have been well taken care of - if you have been well taken care of, that's all my work. If anything went wrong, then its Minister Courtenay's fault, so you can start with that right."
After an opening ceremony the heads of government got into their two day working session with both face to face and virtual elements.
With at least grudging respect for social distance protocols
