TMCnet News
Regional overview: Defence and security(Country Profile Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Drug-trafficking A primary security concern in the Caribbean is the impact of narcotic-trafficking and large-scale financial crime. The region is a major route for the transshipment of South American cocaine to North America and Europe. According to an annual report prepared for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Caribbean co-ordination mechanism, around 216 tonnes pass through the Caribbean islands and the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana) every year en route to the US and Europe, accounting for one-half of the US's cocaine imports and also one-half of Europes. The economic importance of the drug trade is estimated by the same source as equivalent to 3.4% of formal sector GDP in the Caribbean region, rising to 7.4% in Jamaica and even more in the Bahamas and Belize. Marijuana production and exports are less important, but are locally significant in Jamaica and St Vincent. In several Caribbean countries the high level of crime and violence is a matter of major concern, and has led to demands for increased use of the death penalty and other severe punishments. On several islands the police force, prisons, customs and other security services lack technical, training and financial resources, although several have received assistance from the UK and other donors. Caribbean governments have also expressed concern to the US about the fact that it is a source of arms used by criminal gangs and that it deports convicted criminals who are non-nationals. The point is also made that the use of the Caribbean for drug-trafficking, with its related problems, stems ultimately from end-user demand in North America and Europe. Border disputes Guyana is involved in border disputes with Venezuela, which claims two-thirds of its territory, and Suriname, which claims a smaller area in the south-east of the country. These disputes also affect most of the area regarded by Guyana as its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The other major border dispute is a claim by Guatemala to parts of Belize; facilitators appointed by the Organisation of American States (OAS) presented proposals for a settlement in September 2003. These left the existing border substantially unchanged, while providing for a US$200m development trust fund to alleviate poverty on both sides of the border. Guatemala has refused to accept the proposals, however, and attempts to normalise relations are continuing with international support. Given rising international interest in deepwater oil and gas potential, maritime boundaries are of increasing importance. Most are not demarcated, whereas some existing agreements, such as one between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago negotiated in 1990 and a subsequent 2003 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), do not appear to take the interests of neighbouring states into account, creating further difficulties. A long-standing dispute between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago over the EEZ boundary and fishing rights became heated in early 2004, and in February was referred by Barbados to the UN's Law of the Sea tribunal. The tribunal rule on the dispute in April 2006, setting an adjudicated boundary through the disputed waters. The tribunal awarded a large eastern area claimed by Trinidad and Tobago to Barbados; this area is thought to have considerable potential for oil and gas exploration. At the same time, the tribunal ruled in favour of Trinidad and Tobago in relation to a large area to the north of Tobago, where Barbados had claimed fishing rights. Guyana, which had signed a bilateral EEZ agreement with Barbados in December 2003, also referred its maritime dispute with Suriname to the samebody. Rulings are not expected before 2007. Other regional security concerns include a dispute between Venezuela and Dominica and other Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) members over Aves/Bird Island, the ownership of which would affect the exclusive economic zones of several eastern Caribbean islands; illegal migration by Caribbean nationals and others; the unstable political situation in Haiti; and continuing hostility between Cuba and the US. International co-operation Military training agreements exist with the US and the UK, and the defence forces of several Caricom countries have received financial and technical assistance from the US. Caribbean units take part in annual exercises involving UK, US and other NATO troops. Following the Grenada crisis of 1983, the US and the UK assisted in setting up a Regional Security System (RSS) for theeastern Caribbean, covering Barbados and the six independent OECS members. The US, the UK, France and the Netherlands maintain a naval presence in the region. All Caricom countries have signed various forms of shiprider, or maritime counter-narcotics co-operation agreements, with the US, allowing the US military and coastguard to conduct anti-smuggling operations within their territorial waters provided that a representative of the country concerned is on board the US vessel. Some countries have signed similar agreements relating to their national air space. The US, the UK, the EU and Canada are assisting in a programme, agreed in May 1996, to co-operate in intelligence-gathering and the interception of drug-traffickers, backed up by legislation against money-laundering and measures for witness protection, health education and programmes to curb drug use. The UK and the US have since provided further assistance in border and maritime security, intelligence sharing, and leadership training for police, defence forces and other security services. The UK signed a security co-operation agreement with Caricom in October 2004. In addition to drug- and crime-related risks, the Caribbean is under continuing threat from natural hazards. Every Caricom member except Guyana and Suriname is at risk from hurricanes; there is an earthquake hazard in all the islands except for the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos; and there is a volcanic hazard in the eastern Caribbean island chain running from Grenada in the south to St Eustatius and Saba in the north, threatening all the OECS members except Antigua. Floods and landslides are a less spectacular, but more frequent, risk throughout the region. Copyright 2006 Economist Intelligence Unit |