Dear Editor,

As I looked on the news and saw the Russian ambassador to Turkey assassinated and the terrorist attack with a mere truck in Germany, I contemplated the new geopolitical reality of the world, the Caribbean and especially Belize.

It is very difficult to fight an enemy that’s fanatically committed. The Caribbean is historically and immensely connected to the United States and Europe. They are our number one trading partners. We study in both zones and we have a lot of family and friends that live in both zones. The de-risking is one of the side effects of this global war on terrorism on Caribbean countries, including Belize. De-risking has made doing business in all Caribbean countries more costly and inconvenient. I am certain there will be other detrimental side effects to this international war on terrorism. For instance, travelling internationally will definitely become more cumbersome, and international trade will become more onerous.

There is also a Cold War 2.0. The takeover of Crimea by Russia and the civil war in Syria that both the US and Russia are involved in support my assertion. The allegations that Russia interfered in the recent United States presidential election illustrates that this new cold war will be modern and different from the first Cold War.

Preliminary evidence suggests that new geopolitical strategies need to be developed and implemented so that conventional diplomacy will be inadequate. Belize must become more self-sufficient in its response to the volatile geopolitical global situation. We must not wait until this global instability gets worse. Belize must find ways to mitigate the present and future challenges. Belize will either rise or fall; it depends on how strategic we act instead of just reacting.

Yours truly,

Brian Ellis Plummer