Southern St. Catherine JLP protest, Accompong vote on hold, and mixed parish updates

Sections of the Jamaica Labour Party in Southern St. Catherine are mobilising against political caretaker and candidate Delroy Dabdubney, saying the constituency lacks visible leadership and steady representation.

Residents and party supporters preparing a protest argue that major projects are moving without a strong local advocate. Organisers say Dabdubney has had time to establish himself, yet many people still feel disconnected. They want the party executive to help choose a replacement who will work year-round—not only during campaigns—and who will show up for community events, including funerals and milestone birthdays.

"We are without a leader, without someone to advocate for the people," one supporter said. "We're imploring them to allow us to do the work as an executive body so that we'll be able to choose our candidate."

Others accused the caretaker of weak organisation and poor treatment of party workers. CVM News said calls to Dabdubney's office went unanswered.

In St. Elizabeth, the Supreme Court granted an interim injunction that halts nomination day and a planned leadership election in Accompong until a further hearing on 10 June 2026. Senior attorney Bert Samuels said both sides will later argue whether the order should stay in place, and noted the wider question of Maroon sovereignty claims versus compliance with Jamaican court orders. Former Accompong foreign affairs minister Priest Alex Moore Minott said he was surprised by the ruling but argued it named Chief Richard Rowe and his agents, not the entire electoral process; he said nominations on 15 May went ahead without trouble, with Jamaica Constabulary Force representation and no reported violence.

In Hanover, acting chief medical officer Dr. Anthea Anderson-Levine told the Hanover Municipal Corporation that hantavirus risk remains low locally because Caribbean rodents do not carry the strain tied to human transmission. Port health officials are monitoring cruise ships and travellers as a precaution.

Negril hotelier Winthrop Wellington, who also operates short-term rentals, backed the government's plan to apply a 15% general consumption tax to such accommodations from 1 April 2027, saying it raises fair revenue and helps level the playing field with hotels.

In St. James, police challenged a parish politician who described a 1 January shooting that killed three people, including a four-year-old, as murder while INDECOM continues its investigation. A senior officer urged caution and said established legal processes must be allowed to run their course.

Overseas, reports of a possible United States indictment against 94-year-old Raul Castro surfaced during high-level talks in Havana. The case is said to focus on the 1996 downing of two small aircraft flown by members of a Miami-based opposition group, in which four people died. President Trump said he would let the Department of Justice comment. Residents in Havana and Miami offered sharply divided reactions, and there was no immediate comment from Cuba's foreign ministry or the US Justice Department.