Diego Garcia

Gunster Strategies Worldwide is representing the interests of the Chagossian Government in Exile, which opposes the planned UK transfer of the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

On May 22, the UK signed a pact with Mauritius to set the transfer in motion. It did so without the consent of the Chagossians.

Chagos Archipelago, which is in the Indian Ocean, is known for Diego Garcia, a joint UK/US military base. Once the transfer is complete, UK/US access to Diego Garcia is dependent on British payments to Mauritius, which has good ties with China.

Gunster Strategies helped place an op-ed in the Feb. 2 the Daily Caller by Misley Mandarin, interim first minister of the Chagossian Government in Exile.

He wants to keep the Chagos Archipelago under UK control, and urged Donald Trump to oppose the transfer to Mauritius.

“Washington has an opportunity not to undermine an ally, but to encourage a settlement that respects human rights while safeguarding a strategic asset on which much of the free world depends,” wrote Mandarin in the Daily Caller.

He wrote that "recognizing Chagossian self-determination would reflect the best of the American tradition, standing with a displaced people seeking to return home while protecting the security architecture that underpins global stability."

As a gesture of gratitude for Trump’s support, Mandarin has promised to name one of the islands of the Chagos Archipelago after the American president.