Bipartisan legislation to strengthen security and combat corruption and drug trafficking in the Caribbean has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va. and John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced the Caribbean Basin Security Authorization Act, which aims to “improve security cooperation, combat drug trafficking, strengthen the rule of law, counter malign influence from China and Russia, and expand natural disaster resilience” around the Caribbean.
The senators say the legislation would “boost support” for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative. This foreign assistance program includes Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The bill would specifically target transnational criminal organizations and local gangs by strengthening maritime and aerial security. The security measures include “screening and intercepting screening and intercepting narcotics, weapons, bulk cash, and other contraband at airports and seaports.”
The proposal also seeks to “advance law enforcement and justice sector capacity building and rule of law initiatives” by “strengthening special prosecutorial offices” to combat corruption, human trafficking, financial crimes, weapons trafficking and extortion.
The legislation would authorize funding between the 2025 and 2029 fiscal years for the initiative in an effort to promote “citizen safety, security, the rule of law” and combat corruption. It would also “counter malign influence” from authoritarian regimes, including China, Iran and Russia, while promoting “strategic engagement.”
It would “encourage” increased law enforcement collaboration between initiative beneficiaries and Haiti, which the lawmakers concede is on the “brink of collapse.”
The legislation would also require the secretary of state “in consultation” with U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and the Inter-American Foundation to improve disaster response and “resilience.”
Kaine underscored the nexus between the U.S. and the Caribbean region, saying it is needed to counter adversaries.
“What happens in the Caribbean affects the security and economic prosperity of the United States,” said Kaine. “This bipartisan legislation is critical to promoting stability, countering China’s growing influence, and combating drug cartel activity in the region.”
