Brazil Closes Five Embassies in the Caribbean

By Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian Foreign Ministry confirmed the closing of embassies in the Caribbean islands of Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Diplomatic representations were set up during the government of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Itamaraty reported that the embassies in Roseau and Saint John’s, capital cities of Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, have already been closed. The other delegations “are in the process of closing,” according to a note sent to the press.

Minister Ernesto Araújo is also considering closing delegations in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The embassies in most African and Caribbean countries no longer have any staff.

Libya is in the same position. Itamaraty, however, denied any intention of closing the office in Tripoli.

During Lula’s terms of office, between 2003 and 2010, 67 overseas delegations were opened, mainly in small Caribbean and African countries.

Embassies in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were established in 2009, while that of Grenada was made official in 2008. The office in Sierra Leone was opened during Dilma Rousseff’s administration in 2012.