The Tribune

THE United States is set to launch a $3.43 million assistance programme to combat illicit firearms trafficking as part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.

An official announcement is expected to be made at the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) headquarters, on the margin of the Third Caribbean-United States Security Co-operation Dialogue, currently taking in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

IMPACS is an institution of CARICOM created to support member states’ national security initiatives through regional co-operation and co-ordination within the context of a Regional Crime and Security Strategy.

Collaboration

The new initiative, funded by the US 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 US Department of State has partnered with the US Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to spearhead this initiative, 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

• develop an exchange programme that permits Caribbean law enforcement officials to work alongside ATF counterparts in the United States.

Stockpile

The State Department has also provided $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 firearm destruction, specialised training for law enforcement officials, recommendations on legal reforms, and updates to national firearms Acts.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Liliana Ayalde will participate in the ceremony on December 4.

Other notable participants include CARICOM Council of Ministers for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) chairman and Bahamian Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage, Interim Executive Director for CARICOM IMPACS Francis Forbes, and ATF Deputy 
Assistant Director John Torres.