THE FAMILY of Melissa Silvera say they are not pleased with the possibility that her widower, former Member of Parliament (MP) Jolyan Silvera, could be eligible for parole after being sentenced to nearly 21 years for her death. “We were a bit surprised by the parole period. As a family, we would have wished that there was no entitlement to parole. But if the justice system allows it and it is within the law, our feelings are our feelings, but somebody’s entitlement is their entitlement,” said Walter Davis, a cousin of the deceased, who was among a large group of relatives present at the sentencing hearing in the Home Circuit Court on Friday. Davis’ comments followed Chief Justice Bryan Sykes’ ruling on Friday, March 6 which sentenced Silvera to 20 years and 10 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with his wife’s 2023 death. The chief justice imposed 20 years and 10 months for manslaughter and 20 years for using a firearm to commit a felony, with both sentences to run concurrently. Silvera is eligible for parole after serving 13 years. In February 2026, just as his trial was set to begin, Jolyan Silvera pleaded guilty to manslaughter and not guilty to murder, citing provocation during an argument with his wife. CUBA SAYS it will withdraw its 277 medical professionals currently serving in Jamaica, a blow to the island which sought to cushion the fallout from ending a 50-year cooperation programme that helped fill key gaps in the health system. Cuba also claims that Jamaica bowed to pressure from the United States to terminate the programme. Jamaica had offered to engage the workers on individual contracts until their tenures ended. The health workers had between four months to two years left on their contracts, The Gleaner understands. “With this action, the Government of Jamaica yields to the pressures of the Government of the United States, which is not concerned about the health needs of the Caribbean brothers,” said Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a social media post from the embassy in Jamaica on Friday. It added: “In response to the step taken by the Government of Jamaica, the Government of Cuba has made the sovereign decision to proceed with the return of the Cuban Medical Brigade.” Cuba’s response came a day after Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina Johnson Smith told Parliament that the Government’s decision to discontinue the programme was not influenced by the United States. Responding to questions from Opposition lawmaker Dr Alfred Dawes during a meeting of Parliament’s Standing Finance Committee on Thursday, Johnson Smith said the arrangement ended after Jamaica and Cuba failed to reach agreement on the terms of a new cooperation framework. “No,”Johnson Smith said when asked whether Washington had played a role in the decision. THE MONTHLY GLEANER | MARCH 12 - APRIL 11, 2026 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS MISSED 7 Cuba withdraws all medical workers Senator Kamina Johnson Smith A team from the Cuban Medical Brigade arriving in the Caribbean CMC Jolyan Silvera Family members and friends of the late Melissa Silvera staged a protest outside the Emancipation Park in New Kingston on Tuesday, March 3. ANTOINE LODGE/ PHOTOGRAOHER Says Jamaica ‘yielded’ to US pressure JAMAICA’S ECONOMY shrank sharply at the end of last year, and the country now faces what the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) calls a “negative” short-term outlook—with the real risk of a recession if the slide continues into the current quarter. Presenting the preliminary outturn for the October–December 2025 quarter at the PIOJ’s quarterly briefing last week, Director General Dr Wayne Henry reported that real value added fell by 7.5 per cent compared with the same period of 2024—the steepest quarterly decline since the COVID-19 shock of mid-2020. “Today, we are reporting an estimated contraction in real value added of 7.5 per cent for the October to December 2025 quarter,” Henry said, stressing that the blow was “largely [the] effect of Hurricane Melissa,”which inflicted widespread wind, storm-surge and flood damage across productive industries. While grim, the outturn was not as catastrophic as feared in the storm’s immediate aftermath. Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @ JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @ GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com. PIOJ warns of recession as economy contracts Former MP Jolyan Silvera gets almost 21 years for death of wife
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUzNTI=