US Ambassador to Guyana D Brent Hardt and a US delegation have travelled to Trinidad for the Third Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue, marking the third year of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).
According to a press release from the US Embassy, the CBSI is “a partnership that fulfils the commitment to deepen regional security cooperation that President Barack Obama made at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009.” Through CBSI, the United States, Caricom countries and the Dominican Republic are working together to reduce illicit trafficking, increase public safety and security, and promote social justice.
Hardt is also the US Special Representative to Caricom.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Liliana Ayalde will lead the delegation, which also includes Deputy Assistant Secretary of State For International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Carol Perez; USAID Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean Beth Hogan; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Deputy Assistant Director John Torres; U.S. Southern Command Deputy Director for Intelligence Operations (J2) Captain James Roick; and U.S. Northern Command Foreign Policy Advisor Ambassador W. Stuart Symington. The delegation will also meet with government officials and civil society representatives.
On the margins of the Third Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue, the United States will announce a US$3.43 million assistance programme to combat illicit trafficking in firearms as part of CBSI at Caricom’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) headquarters.
IMPACS is an institution of Caricom created to support member states’ national security initiatives through regional cooperation and coordination within the context of a Regional Crime and Security Strategy. This initiative will combat illicit firearms trafficking in the region through capacity building measures in collaboration with all members of Caricom and the Dominican Republic.
The meeting concludes tomorrow.
