Washington, DC — Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks and Chairman Brian Mast sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging U.S. engagement in support of Jamaica’s recovery and electrical infrastructure reconstruction following Hurricane Melissa.

The hurricane, which made landfall in October, was the strongest storm to make landfall in the Atlantic Basin in history and left catastrophic damage to core infrastructure in its wake. 

In the letter, Chairman Mast and Ranking Member Meeks emphasized the importance of uplifting a critical partner to maintain regional security, trade, and energy. 

“This presents both a strategic opportunity and a vulnerability for U.S. interests,” the lawmakers wrote. “If Jamaica must rely on foreign expertise, financing, and equipment to rebuild its electrical grid, the United States should encourage competitive opportunities for American firms and workers to provide such support. Otherwise, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will seize this opening. PRC state-owned enterprises have invested billions in Latin American and Caribbean infrastructure to establish strategic footholds in the region—owning the electrical infrastructure of a nation just 600 miles from U.S. shores would provide Beijing with significant economic and political leverage in the Caribbean.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.