US Army veteran Godfrey Wade deported to Jamaica after months in ICE detention
Godfrey Wade, a 65-year-old US Army veteran detained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility for months, has been deported to Jamaica. Wade arrived on the island Thursday, according to the Jamaica Gleaner. Wade’s military service did not exempt him from removal — a pattern that has surfaced in multiple deportation cases involving veterans across Caribbean diaspora communities over the past two years. Sir Ronald Sanders has written about the question of how Caribbean states absorb deportees under what he calls constraints of sovereignty — a question compounded by the visibility of veteran cases like Wade’s. The longer-term question of how he reintegrates without the network of US Veterans Affairs services sits with the wider conversation about deportee support.
Sources: Jamaica Gleaner, May 2026; Sir Ronald Sanders syndicated column, May 10, 2026.
JPL semi-finals: Cavalier advance with 2-0 win over Waterhouse
Cavalier advanced to the semi-finals of the Jamaica Premier League after scoring a 2-0 win over Waterhouse in Wednesday’s second-leg play-off, joining the four-team race for the two semi-final spots that’s now all square as the deciders approach. The JPL has been generating fresh diaspora attention this season as the league professionalises broadcast production and matches between historic Kingston clubs return to packed venues. For Jamaican football followers abroad, the closing weeks of the JPL play-offs are appointment viewing — and the wider conversation about Leon Bailey’s apology after the Reggae Boyz failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup continues to run alongside the domestic league action.
Sources: Jamaica Gleaner, May 14, 2026; Jamaica Observer, May 14, 2026.
Bank of Jamaica launches tender for new business continuity centre
The Bank of Jamaica has launched a tender for architectural and engineering consultants to design and oversee the construction of a new business continuity centre on a 3.2-acre property near the French Embassy. The BCC is the latest in a series of resilience investments the central bank has made post-2021, reflecting the BOJ’s positioning as one of the more strategically forward central banks in the region. For Jamaicans abroad with banking and remittance interests, the BCC announcement is a low-noise but meaningful signal that the financial system’s operational resilience is being hardened.
Source: Jamaica Gleaner, May 13, 2026.
Fair Trading Commission launches investigation into petroleum pricing
The Fair Trading Commission has launched investigations into possible anti-competitive practices in the pricing and distribution of petroleum products, following complaints from gas dealers. The investigation lands at exactly the moment Caribbean and African governments are publicly hedging Gulf War oil shocks — and at a moment when Jamaican households are sensitive to every cent of pump-price movement. The FTC inquiry will look at distributor margins, supply allocation, and whether competition is being suppressed.
Source: Jamaica Gleaner Business desk, May 2026.
PEP 2026: over 30,000 grade six students complete primary exit profile
More than 30,000 grade six students across Jamaica have completed the 2026 Primary Exit Profile (PEP), the two-day assessment that determines secondary school placement. Results will follow the established release timeline and shape the high school choices of the cohort. For Jamaican parents abroad whose children sit the PEP — and the broader diaspora that maintains close interest in the secondary school placement system — the completion of the assessment closes one of the year’s most stressful family chapters and opens the placement conversation that will run through summer.
Source: Jamaica Gleaner, May 14, 2026.