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1 1 (August 12, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbej0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Updated August 12,2020 The United States developed the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), a regional U.S. foreign as sis tance program, in 2009 through a process of dialogue with Caribbean countries. The initiative seeks to reduce illicit trafficking in the region, advancepublic safety and security, and promote socialjustice. Because of their geographic location, many Caribbeannations are vulnerable to being used as transit countries for illicit drugs fromSouth America destined for the U.S. and European markets. Strengthened U.S. countemarcotics cooperation with Mexico and Central America-through the M6rida Initiative and the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)-led U.S. policymakers to anticipate a potential increase in narcotics trafficking through the Caribbean. Many Caribbean countries have also suffered high rates of violent crime, including murder, often associatedwith drug trafficking activities. President Obama announced the initiative at the fifth Summit of the Americas in April2009. U.S. and Caribbean representatives followed up with several meetings and in 2010 held an inaugural Caribbean-U.S. Security Cooperation Dialogue, which approved a declaration of principles, a framework for engagement, and a broad action plan. Seven additional Caribbean-U.S. security cooperation dialogues have been held, with the mo s trecent in May 2019 in Washington, DC. In June 2017, the State Departnentreleased a U.S. strategy for engagementin the Caribbean (required by P.L. 114-291, the United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016). Among the priorities for engagement is security, with the objectives of strengthening lmutualnational security and advancing citizens' safety through programs to dis mantle criminal and terrorist organizations, curb the trafficking of illicit goods andpeople, strengthen therule of law, and counter vulnerability to terrorist threats-all efforts central to the CBSI. Congress has supported funding for the CBSI. From FY2010 throughFY2020, Congress appropriated almost $677 million for the CBSI benefiting 13 Caribbean countries-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 (seeTable 1 and Figure 1). Since FY2018, Congress has not approvedTrump Administration budget requests that would have cut CBSI funding significantly. For FY2020, the Administration requested $40.2million for the CBSI, about a 30% drop from that appropriated in FY2019. Ultimately, Congress appropriated not less than $60 million for FY2020 in the Further Cons olidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116- 94, H.R 1865, Explanatory Statement, Division G). For FY2021, the Administration requested $32 million for the CBSI, a cut ofalnost 47% from that appropriated in FY2020. The House version of the FY2021 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations bill, Division A of HR. 7608 (H.Rept. 116- 444), approved July 24,2020, would provide a minimum of $74.8 million, including $10million to strengthenresilience to emergencies and disasters. In other legislative action, on July 29,2020, the House Foreign Affairs Committee ordered reported, without amendment, HR. 7703, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act. The billwould authorize $74.8 million for the CBSI for each year fromFY2021 through FY2015, included monitoring and reporting requirements for the CBSI, and require the State Departnent to prioritize efforts to increase disaster response andresilience by carrying out suchprogras in beneficiary countries. Coordinatedby the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere affairs and implemented largely by the State Department, USAID, and the Departmrent ofDefense, the CBSI has targetedU.S. assistance in five areas: * Maritime and Aerial Security Cooperation, including assistanceto strengthen Caribbean maritime and aerialoperations capability, improve radar coverage, and sustain those capabilities; * Law Enforcement Capacity Building, including assistance to improve law enforcement though police profes sionalization, anti-corruption training, and conmrunity-based policing; * Border/Port S ecurity and Firearms Interdiction, including support to improve capacity to intercept smuggled narcotics, weapons, bulkcash, and other contraband at airports and seaports; * Justice Sector Reform, including support to increase theefficacy of prosecutors and criminal courts and reformand strengthenjuvenile justice systems;and * Crime Prevention and At-Risk Youth, including assistance to populations vulnerable to being victims of crime or at risk of recruitment into criminal organizations. Although the State Department has not published CBSI funding statistics by country, a February 2019 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report shows that fromFY2010 through FY2018, the Dominican Republic received almost23% of CBSI funding, Jamaica A A '2

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