The Miami Herald cites an Atlantic Council report, Uncertain Energy: The Caribbean’s Gamble with Venezuela

But a recent Atlantic Council report entitled “Uncertain Energy: the Caribbean’s gamble with Venezuela” warns that the Obama administration’s evolving plans to help Caribbean Basin countries develop their own renewable energy industries is a good long-term strategy, but won’t help much in the near term.

“For the short and medium term, a strategy focused on natural gas can deploy faster and at lower cost,” the report says. It adds that natural gas would be the most cost-effective alternative energy source for Caribbean Basin countries, and that the United States and international financial institutions should provide funds to allow Caribbean countries to build natural gas import terminals.

In addition, David Goldwyn, a former U.S. official and the report’s lead author, told me that “Washington should focus on the biggest and most vulnerable Caribbean countries, such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Those are the most dependent on Venezuelan oil.”

Read the full article here.