United States Ambassador to Guyana D Brent Hardt has said that while the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) programme has yielded overwhelming successes since its implementation in 2010, Washington will continue to work with the Caribbean region as there is much more work to be done.
Ambassador Hardt was at the time speaking at the handing over ceremony of three vessels to the Coast Guard on Friday last. He stated that the handing over was also a part of the CBSI programme which seeks to combat the drug trade and other transnational crimes that threaten regional security.
The CBSI programme was announced by U.S. President Barack Obama at the 2009 Summit of the Americas. It was then launched the following year in Washington with Caribbean Countries. According to the U.S. Ambassador, some four years into the partnership, the U.S. still remains committed to working with Guyana and regional partners to expand their efforts.
“Our countries are bound together in this effort by our common geography, our close economic links and the close ties and travel among our citizens. These factors make it essential for us to work together if we are to be successful in achieving the security, safety, prosperity and opportunity our citizens seek and demand,” the Ambassador said.
Shared responsibility
At the recent dialogue held in Washington, DC in December, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns had observed that “the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which is based on shared responsibility, mutual respect, and shared approaches to common challenges, offers a vivid example of the benefit such partnership can yield”.
“We want the citizens of Guyana to see the benefits of improved security and social justice in a personal way: in their neighbourhoods, in their schools, along their rivers and shorelines, and in the marketplace. To achieve this, we need to forge a relatable long-term partnership to build capacities by providing adequate training, equipment and other resources to meet the threats,” Hardt pointed out.
On this note, he disclosed that the U.S. has proved its commitment through a wide range of CBSI projects to directly support Guyana. He highlight the fact that the U.S. donated US$1.7 million to the United Nations through the UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNRILEC) to assist with the disposal of obsolete weapons, ammunitions and explosives in the Caribbean. Guyana also benefited from this programme with the presentation of the destruction equipment by UNLIREC.
Tracking weapons
Another initiative the Caribbean continues to reap benefits from is the Regional Integrated Ballistics Information Network (RIBIN). This is a U.S.-funded programme that involves the development of a network of ballistics identification instructions within the Caribbean to allow law enforcement agencies to track the movements of weapons from country to country. This was done taking into consideration the previous CBSI contribution of a firearms marking equipment.
“Together with the E-trace Network, which allows Guyanese law enforcement officials to gather relevant information through firearms serial numbers including the name of the owner or purchaser, types of crime committed with the weapon, these tracking systems will enhance regional capacity to share information and collaborate to reduce the threat of gun violence and crime, while helping to solve outstanding cases,” the U.S. Ambassador explained.
Ambassador Hardt further mentioned other CBSI projects from which Guyana, and the Caribbean at large, has benefited from. These include the recent integrated biometrics fingerprint system that was given to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to digitalise Guyana’s fingerprint records system and introduce multilateral information sharing within Caricom and the U.S. law enforcement agencies. This, according to Hardt, has already facilitated cross-border law enforcement cooperation and contributed to numerous arrests.
In addition, CBSI in collaboration with local authorities have seen success stories in various sectors, including narcotics trade and trafficking. Hardt disclosed that in 2013, the discovery of some 360 kilograms of cocaine was attributed to implementation of a port security scanning initiative designed in partnership with the UN Office of Drug Control Policy.
