Even as Prime Minister Gaston Browne is joking about not traveling to the United States at this time, and using ICE aggression – even against its own citizens – as his rationale, sources based in Washington, DC, believe his reasons are really rooted in fear.
They claim the re-arrest and potential re-indictment of Browne’s admitted friend and associate Alex Saab Moran in February poses significant legal risks for the prime minister and reputational risks for this country.
Reports say that Saab Moran – who had been released from US custody in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange – stands accused of laundering money through Antigua and Barbuda-based banks.
The sources say that his renewed detention, which is linked to joint US-Venezuelan operations, poses significant risk to both Browne and Antigua and Barbuda.
Among these is renewed international scrutiny, as the Browne Administration is known to have accorded Saab diplomatic status as an economic envoy, complete with an Antigua and Barbuda passport, during its first term.
It is alleged that Browne’s business transactions with Saab Moran and the use of this country’s financial system have already damaged Antigua and Barbuda’s banking reputation, with reports suggesting a “high country risk and blocked wire transfers.”
Given that Saab Moran is a central figure in alleged Venezuelan financial and drug dealings, with reported links to Hezbollah, our sources in the United States believe he may cooperate with US authorities to avoid a life sentence – and this, they note, could implicate Caribbean officials, including some in Antigua and Barbuda.
Just as concerning, the sources claim that a “simmering diplomatic scandal” related to persons holding questionable diplomatic passports has already surfaced in US Federal court. This probe, they allege, specifically targets the administration of Prime Minister Browne.
It is widely accepted that the US visa and Green Card woes facing Antigua and Barbuda nationals are tied to the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP). These latest alleged developments continue to raise questions about the vetting procedures employed by the Browne government and its criteria for diplomatic appointments.
It was only last month, February 2026, that PM Browne relieved a local diplomat of his duties for the admitted receipt of a “fee” related to the controversial sale of the Motor Yacht Alfa Nero, a matter now before the Antigua and Barbuda High Court and a US District Court, with filings in Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Prior to that move, Browne – the minister of finance – had alerted the public that several offshore banks could also be shut down, following the placing of Global Bank of Commerce into administration. The latter institution was reported to be undergoing difficulties for some time, as it was unable to receive offshore deposits.
Local sources have long suspected that offshore institutions were being used to launder funds and facilitate illegal payments, as was proven in the Odebrecht Bribery Scandal that utilized the now-defunct Meinl Bank.
Interestingly, no local investigation into this massive international scandal has ever been launched by the Browne Administration, despite allegations against the prime minister.
Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda passport holders continue to face rejection at the US Embassy in Barbados on the basis that the document makes them ineligible for consideration.
One woman tells REAL News that after several decades of legally working in the USA during the tourism off-season, she and her husband were denied their usual J-class visas this year.
She notes that she has been working in an upstate summer camp for the last 10 years, while her husband has been doing so for 30.
However, despite submitting the DS-2019 (sponsorship) forms and other relevant documents, the woman says the Barbados office informed her that Antiguans and Barbudas are not eligible for approval at this time.
In fact, the woman says, she was specifically asked if she had “another nationality” that they could consider – but she does not.
“This is how me and my husband make our money when the hotels are closed,” she says sadly. “We have four children, with the eldest one now in university. What are we going to do?”
Ironically, REAL News also learned that a citizen holding an Antigua and Barbuda passport was successful in obtaining an immigrant visa (Green Card) this week – _only because she is a national of a South American country and was able to present a passport from her homeland._
“When she (the officer) tossed my Antigua and Barbuda passport back through the window, I wanted to cry,” she tells our Newsroom.
“Having that passport used to mean so much to me, and to see that it’s now useless….”
While the latest communication out of the United States indicated that the usual 10-year, multiple-entry visa would be replaced by a stamp granting a single entry within 90 days, it appears that this is on paper only, as the same woman reports that she was the only person from Antigua and Barbuda to be successful at the Embassy that day.
In short, several rejected applicants have told our Newsroom that the “assurances” given by Prime Minister Browne and Ambassador Ron Sanders are “just talk.”
“Trump is shutting us out, and only the prime minister really knows why,” one said grimly.
