(CMR) A diplomatic row is said to be brewing between the United States and Jamaica after the Caribbean nation rejected a request to grant diplomatic immunity to the spouse of a US diplomat in a same-sex marriage.
Reports are that the US requested that all the privileges given to a diplomat be given to the spouse of a diplomat who will be posted in Jamaica soon. However, the Jamaican government rejected the request.
Diplomatic immunity is a status granted to a diplomat that exempts them from the laws of a foreign jurisdiction.
A government source told Television Jamaica that approval of the request would mean Jamaica recognizes same-sex marriage, which is illegal in Jamaica.
The US has reportedly retaliated by rejecting a request for an extension for three of Jamaica's diplomats based in the US. The US has said when the diplomats' current five-year period in the country has ended, they should leave the country.
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