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What is the Democratic Caribbean Caucus?

The Democratic Caribbean Caucus of Florida is a Democratic political organization chartered by the Florida Democratic Party. We are a statewide organization chartered to organize the Democratic Caribbean Community and operate the Democratic Caribbean Caucus of Florida to address the issues the impact the Caribbean Community within the State of Florida.

The Democratic Caribbean Caucus of Florida is a political voice for individuals of Caribbean background whose voices traditionally have been faintly or rarely heard in the political system. We derive our responsibility and authority from the State Democratic Party. The Democratic Caucus is granted an official seat on the Florida Democratic Executive Committee where political decisions are made for Democrats in the State of Florida. The Democratic Caribbean Caucus’ concerns and issues are now presented directly to the Florida Democratic Party at its Executive Meetings.

The Democratic Caribbean Caucus of Florida’s founders envisioned bringing the Caribbean Communities of Democrats throughout Florida to work politically side-by-side to increase our party’s voter base and election turnout.

Anguilla

Antigua and Barbuda

Aruba

Bahamas

Barbados

British Virgin Islands (BVI)

Cayman Islands

Cuba

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Guadeloupe

Haiti

Honduras

Jamaica

Martinique

Netherlands atilles

Nicaragua

Panama

Puerto Rico

St. Bathelemy

St. Kitts

St. Lucia

St. Martin

St. Vincent

Trinidad

Turks and Caicos

Virgin Islands

Anguilla (pronounced /æŋˈɡwɪlə/ ang-GWIL-ə) is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean, one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. It consists of the main island of Anguilla itself, approximately 26 km (16 miles) long by 5 km (3 miles) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The island's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 102 km² (39.4 square miles), with a population of approximately 13,500 (2006 estimate).

Antigua and Barbuda (Spanish for "Ancient" and "Bearded") is an island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. As its name suggests, it consists of two major islands – Antigua (IPA: /ænˈtiːɡə/) and Barbuda (/bɑrˈbjuːdə/) – as well as a number of smaller islets. All are close neighbours within the middle of the Leeward Islands and roughly 17 degrees north of the equator.

Aruba is a 33-kilometre (21 mi)-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, 27 km (17 mi) north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela. Together with Curaçao and Bonaire it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.

The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an independent, sovereign, English-speaking country consisting of two thousand cays and seven hundred islands that form an archipelago. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the United States; north of Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic & Haiti) and the Caribbean Sea; and northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Its size is almost 14,000 km² with an estimated population of 330,000. Its capital is Nassau. It remains a Commonwealth realm.

Barbados (Portuguese word for bearded-ones, pronounced /bɑrˈbeɪdoʊz, -dɒs/),[2] situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Continental Island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. Located at roughly 13° North of the equator and 59° West of the prime meridian, it is considered a part of the Lesser Antilles. Its closest island neighbours are Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and Saint Lucia to the west. To the south lies Trinidad and Tobago—with which Barbados now shares a fixed official maritime boundary—and also the South American mainland.

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is a British overseas territory, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S. Virgin Islands. Technically the name of the Territory is simply the "Virgin Islands", but in practice since 1917 they have been almost universally referred to as the "British Virgin Islands" to distinguish the islands from the American Territory.

The Cayman Islands (pronounced /ˈkeɪmæn/ or /ˈkeɪmən/) are a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. The territory is a major financial centre in the Caribbean.

Cuba (IPA: /ˈkjuːbə/, Spanish: Cuba (help·info) or República de Cuba (help·info) Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa]) is a country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles), the island of Isla de la Juventud, and several adjacent small islands.

The Commonwealth of Dominica, commonly known as Dominica, is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. To the north/northwest lies Guadeloupe, to the southeast Martinique. Its size is 754 square kilometres (291 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,750 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica has an estimated population of 72,500. The capital is Roseau.

The Dominican Republic (Spanish: República Dominicana; Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island Hispaniola is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries, Saint Martin being the other. Its size is 48,700 km² with an estimated population of almost 10,000,000.

Grenada (pronounced /grɪˈneɪdə/) is an island nation that includes the southern Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 344 km² with an estimated population of 110,000. Its capital is St. George's. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada Dove.

Guadeloupe is an island group or archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at

16°15′N 61°35′W, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi).[1] It is an overseas department of France. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic.

Haiti (pronounced /ˈheɪtiː/; French Haïti pronounced [aiti]; Haitian Creole: Ayiti), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti ; Repiblik Ayiti), is a Creole- and French-speaking Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago. Ayiti (Land on high) was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island.

Honduras in Spanish, República de Honduras Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe onˈduɾas]) is a democratic republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras (now Belize).[2] The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Its size is just over 110,000 km² with an estimated population of almost 7,500,000. Its capital is Tegucigalpa.

Jamaica (pronounced /dʒəˈmeɪkə/) is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated.

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1,128 km². It is an overseas department of France. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia. As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic.

The Netherlands Antilles (Dutch:

Nederlandse Antillen (help·info)), previously known as the Netherlands West Indies or Dutch Antilles/West Indies, is part of the Lesser Antilles and consists of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea: Curaçao and Bonaire, just off the Venezuelan coast, and Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten, located southeast of the Virgin Islands.

Nicaragua (IPA: /ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/) officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua?·i, Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa]), is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest state in Central America with an area of 130,000 km2, about the size of the state of New York. Nicaragua is the least densely populated country in Central America (42/km2) with 5,600,000 people. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of the country, the Caribbean Sea to the east. Falling within the tropics, Nicaragua sits 11 degrees north of the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere. Nicaragua's capital city is Managua.

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá; Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on an isthmus connecting North and South America, some categorize it as a transcontinental nation. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the north-west, Colombia to the south-east, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Its size is 75,000 km² with an estimated population of 3,300,000. Its capital is Panama City.
Panama is an international business center and is also a transit country. Although Panama is only the fourth largest economy in Central America,[3] it is the fastest growing and largest per capita consumer in Central America.[4][5]

Puerto Rico (pronounced /ˌpwɛrtə ˈriːkoʊ/ or /ˌpɔrtə ˈriːkoʊ/), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" [literally, English: "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"]), is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico is composed of an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands and keys, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona.

Saint Barthélemy (French: Saint-Barthélemy), officially the Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy (French: Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy), is an overseas collectivity of France. To the northwest lies St. Martin, to the southwest Saba, to the south St. Eustatius and St. Kitts, and ultimately to the southeast Barbuda. Its size is 21 km² with a population 8,450 (census 2007). Its capital is Gustavia.

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis),[2] located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest nation in the Americas, in both area and population.
The capital city and headquarters of government for the federated state is on the larger island of Saint Kitts. The smaller state of Nevis lies about 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Saint Kitts, across a shallow channel called "The Narrows".

Saint Lucia (pronounced /ˌseɪnt ˈluːʃɪə/) is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean.[3] Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. Its size is 620 km² with an estimated population of 160,000. Its capital is Castries.

Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km (186 miles) east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km² island is divided roughly in half between France (53 km²)[1] and the Netherlands Antilles (34 km²)[2]; it is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations. The southern Dutch half comprises the Eilandgebied Sint Maarten (Island area of St. Martin) and is part of the Netherlands Antilles. The northern French half comprises the Collectivité de Saint-Martin (Collectivity of St. Martin) and is an overseas collectivity of France.

Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean, the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains. La Soufrière is still an active volcano . The territory was disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, before being ceded to the British in 1783.

Trinidad (Spanish: "Trinity") is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just 11 km (7 miles) off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. Trinidad has an area of 4,768 km² (1,864 sq. mi.), the sixth largest in the West Indies and is located between

10°3′N 60°55′W and

10°50′N 61°55′W.

The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI, pronounced /ˈtɝːks əŋ ˈkeɪkəs/) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. The Turks and Caicos Islands are situated about 600 miles (970 km) southeast of Miami and 50 miles (80 km) south east of Mayaguana in the Bahamas, and have a total land area of 166 square miles (430 km2).

The Virgin Islands are an archipelago, part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles, where the Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean.
The Virgin Islands are divided into two political entities; on the east, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and over fifty other smaller islands are administered as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom; and in the west, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Water Island are governed as an unincorporated territory of the United States.

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