World Notes Barbados

At the time of the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983, one of the Reagan Administration's strongest Caribbean backers was Tom Adams, Prime Minister of Barbados. Among Washington's strongest re- gional critics was Adams' chief opponent, former Prime Minister Errol Barrow. Since then, Adams has died and been replaced by Bernard St. John, but the U.S.'s Caribbean policy has remained a controversial subject on the island.

During the recent election campaign, Barrow referred to Ronald Reagan as a "cowboy" who "cannot speak without the use of a TelePrompTer." Most observers thought the outcome would be close. But when the vote was counted last week, Barrow's Democratic Labor Party had won 24 of the 27 seats in Parliament. Despite the outcome, the U.S. expected little change in its relations with the island nation.