Daryl Wesley Phillip Vaz is a Jamaican politician who is the Labour MP for Portland Western.[1][2] He was the Minister of Information and Telecommunications in Jamaica from March 2009 to January 2016. His party lost the election in 2011 and Vaz served as opposition spokesman on Telecommunications. Vaz is currently Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, with responsibility for land, environment, climate change and investments, since the Jamaica Labour Party returned to government in March 2016. He also serves as Member of Parliament for the constituency of Portland Parish Western Division.[3][4]
Early life
He was born in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica to Douglas and Sonia Vaz.[5] His father is a former president of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association and former Minister of Industry and Commerce.[6]
Daryl Vaz engendered some controversy over his dual United States/Jamaican nationality. His mother, Sonia, was born in Puerto Rico and thus is a United States citizen by birth, albeit also a Jamaican citizen, currently resident in Canada. In 2008 or 2009 he renounced his United States citizenship in order to remain active in Jamaican politics.[8]
Vaz was charged with corruption after an investigation into a traffic violation and bribery charge involving a close personal friend. Vaz's friend Bruce Bicknell was ticketed on 9 April 2012, in a traffic offence and allegedly presented the police officer with JA$2000 along with vehicle documents.[9] It is alleged that Mr. Vaz told the police sergeant in the case that he would be promoted if he gave Bicknell a chance. Vaz stepped down from his shadow minister post for the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), as a result of the corruption charges.[10]
In 2021, Darl Vaz was reissued a USA Visa after it was cancelled - that US Visa had an annotation that reads: "212(SMALL D) (3) (A) WAIVER of 212 (A) (2C) (1).". Which according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services refers to a visitor who the consular officer or the US attorney general knows or has reason to believe is or has been an illicit trafficker in any controlled substance or in any listed chemical or is or has been a knowing aider, abettor, assister, conspirator, or colluder with others in the illicit trafficking in any such controlled or listed substance or chemical, or endeavoured to do so.[11][12]
^"Ministers and Ministries"(PDF). Jamaica Information Service. November 2009. Archived from the original(PDF) on 15 February 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
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