Guyana to benefit from US$3.4M initiative to tackle arms trade

TIMES INT'L
United States Ambassador to Guyana, D Brent Hardt

The United States announced a US$3.43 million assistance programme to combat illicit trafficking in firearms as part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).
This announcement was made at the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) headquarters on the margin of the third Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, which began on Tuesday and concluded on Wednesday.
This initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Programme, will combat illicit firearms trafficking in the region through capacity building measures in collaboration with all members of Caricom and The Dominican Republic.
The U.S. Department of State has partnered with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to spearhead this initiative comprised of the following agenda which will, provide two regional firearms advisors in the Caribbean to render on-site assistance; establish a forensic training programme; provide expert legal, regulatory and parliamentary assistance; and develop an exchange programme that permits Caribbean law enforcement officials to work alongside ATF counterparts in the United States.
The U.S. Department of State has also provided US$1 million to the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) to assist 14 Caribbean states in the development of National Action Plans on Stockpile Management and Firearms Destruction, specialised training for law enforcement officials, and recommendations on legal reforms, and updates to national firearms acts.

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