This was followed in 1966 by the independence of Guyana, and successively the various islands in the Caribbean, which were granted Commonwealth independence primarily from the United Kingdom: Trinidad and Tobago in 1962, Barbados in 1966, Grenada (from the United States) in 1974, Dominica in 1978, St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 1979, Antigua and Barbuda in 1981, and St. Kitts and Nevis in 1983.

In 1973 the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was founded as an international organization with headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana.

The central basis today is the strategic cooperation between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean, the EU-LAC process (EU-Latin America Summit, since 1999), the Cotonou Agreement of 2000, and the Joint EU -Caribbean Partnership Strategy (JECS) of 2012.

The Austrian Development Agency (ADA), which implements the ADC, does not operate an office in this region.

The announcement of the relocation of the embassy to Bogota after 2015 was also criticized because of Venezuela's economic importance, especially as an OPEC member.