Official launch of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative
The Obama Administration has been working this spring to put its own stamp on security and counternarcotics programs for Latin America. This is starting to come together as four initiatives: the Mérida, Caribbean Basin Security, Central American Regional Security, and Colombian Security Development Initiatives. By covering several different regions of Latin America, the Obama administration believes it will "mitigate any 'balloon effect' - criminal spillover resulting from successful reductions in drug trafficking and transnational crime elsewhere in the region." To underscore one of the goals of the Obama Administration's approach to security in the region, the State Department released a new fact sheet today on "Citizen Safety in the Western Hemisphere." The fact sheet stresses the president's commitment to working with the region, "creating practical partnerships in the hemisphere to advance shared interests and protect our citizens." The approach to citizen security that the four above-mentioned initiatives encompass includes:
- Emphasizing the need for comprehensive, evidence-based strategies that address underlying causes, not just symptoms;
- Recognizing that the absence of citizen safety undermines efforts to promote equitable economic growth and social opportunity, secure and clean sources of energy, and the strong democratic institutions needed for effective and accountable governance; and
- Focusing on making advances in citizen safety at the neighborhood level while simultaneously countering emerging transnational threats.
A State Department fact sheet on the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) released late last week cites three key objectives of this initiative: 1) substantially reduce illicit trafficking; 2) increase public safety and security; and 3) promote social justice. The new initiative was formally launched today at the inaugural U.S.-Caribbean Security Dialogue in Washington. The meeting was attended by high-level representatives from 15 Caribbean Community countries, the Dominican Republic, and other non-Caribbean observer nations. According to the State Department's release announcing this meeting, "in addition to law enforcement cooperation, partnership activities will include important elements of judicial reform, as well as development and education components intended to provide at-risk youth of the region with improved prospects for social and economic inclusion." At the meeting, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela told officials that "security must be advanced through our commitment to partner with those who are courageously battling drug cartels, gangs and other criminal networks throughout the Americas." The Assistant Secretary continued to note that the initiative's success "'will require the allocation of adequate resources for enhanced law enforcement and prevention programs' as well as judicial reforms," according to AFP coverage of the meeting. In the 2010 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, Congress allocated "not less than $37 million" for CBSI, though in various platforms, the State Department has emphasized that it is "fully committed" to fund the President's $45 million request for 2010. The President asked for an additional $79 million for CBSI in his 2011 budget request. According to the Congressional Budget Justification for Fiscal Year 2011, of the $79 million, $17 million would be used economic and social assistance and $62 million for military and police assistance, though a detailed breakdown has yet to be released indicating how much each of the 15 countries in the Caribbean region will receive and, specifically, what it will pay for. Though this meeting was previously scheduled, it coincides with the recent violence in Jamaica, as its government seeks to arrest and extradite to the United States one of its top drug lords, Christopher "Dudus" Coke. Over the past four days, violent clashes between the Jamaican security forces and armed gangs have resulted in over 50 deaths. Many analysts have linked the violence to "the government's risky tolerance of, and even collusion with, Coke and similar gang bosses who lord over Kingston neighborhoods." Others note that drug traffickers in Jamaica "fill a void left by the Jamaican government's inaction or negligence. They pay for basic services and hand out money. Jamaican youths, especially, complain of a lack of jobs or other opportunities that drives them into the gangs." Assistant Secretary Valenzuela said at today's U.S.-Caribbean meeting, "I take note of the challenges that Jamaica is facing." However, it is still unclear whether the Obama administration's initiatives in the region will be able to truly address the underlying social, economic and political problems that allow drug traffickers like "Dudus" Coke to function with impunity and prosper in the region.