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1 1 (April 15, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveczr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Updated April15, 2021 Caribbean Basin Security Initiati The United States developed the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), a regional U.S. foreign assistance 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 Caribbean nations are vulnerable to being used as transit countries forillicit drugs fromSouth America destinedfor the U.S. and European markets. Strengthened U.S. counternarcotics cooperation with Mexico and Central America-through the Merida Initiative and the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)-led U.S. policymakers to anticipate a potential increase in narcotics trafficking throughthe Caribbean. Many Caribbean countries have also suffered high rates ofviolent crime, including murder, often associated with drug trafficking activities. President Ob ama announced the initiative at the fifth Summit of the Americas in 2009. U.S. and Caribbean representatives held follow-up meetings and, in 2010, an inaugural Caribbean-U.S. Security Cooperation Dialogue, which approved a declaration of principles, a framework for engagement, and a broad action plan. In October 2020, Caribbean and U.S. officials held the ninth dialogue virtually, with theme of s trengthening regional coordination to address shared security challenges. In June 2017, the State Departmentreleased a U.S. strategy for engagement in the Caribbean (required by P.L. 114-291, the United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Actof 2016). Among the priorities for engagement is security, with the objectives of strengthening mutualnational security and advancing citizens' safety through programs to dismantle criminal and terrorist organizations, curb the trafficking ofillicit goods andpeople, strengthen therule of law, and counter vulnerability to terrorist threats-all efforts central to the CBSI. Congres s has supported funding for the CBSI. From FY2010 throughFY2021, Congress appropriated $751 million for the CBSI, benefiting 13 Caribbean countries- Antiguaand 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 (see Table 1 and Figure 1). FromFY2018-FY2021, Congress did not approve Trump Administration budget requests that would have cut CBSI funding significantly. ForFY2020, the Administration requested $40.2 million for the CBSI, but Congress appropriated not less than $60 million for FY2020 in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116- 94, H.R 1865, Explanatory Statement, Division G). For FY2021, the Adminis tration requested $32 million for the CBSI, an cut of almost 47% from that appropriated in FY2020; Congress appropriated not less than $74.8 million for the CBSI in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260, Explanatory Statement, Division K). In other 116th Congress legislative action, the conference report to the FY2021 NationalDefense Authorization Act (H.Rept. 116-617 to P.L. 116-283) states thatenhancing partnerships between the United States and Caribbean nations is in the U.S. strategic interest and that the United States should pursue opportunities to strengthen engagement in the Caribbean consistent with the objections of the 2018 NationalDefense Strategy and the State Department's Caribbean 2020 strategy. In November 2020, the House approved H.R. 7703, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act, but the Senate did not consider the measure. Thebill would have authorized $74.8 million for the CBSI for each year fromFY2021 through FY2025, including monitoring and reporting requirements for the CBSI. Coordinatedby the State Department's BureauofWestem Hemisphere affairs and implemented largely by the State Department, USAID, and theDepartmentof Defense, the CBSI has targeted U.S. as sistance in five areas: Maritime and Aerial Security Cooperation, including assistanceto strengthen Caribbean maritime and aerial operations capability, improve radar coverage, and sustain those capabilities; Law Fnforcement Capacity Building, including assistance to improve law enforcement though police profes sionalization, anti-corruption training, and community-based policing; Border/Port Security 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 the efficacy of pro secutors and criminal courts and reformand s trengthenjuvenile jus tice systems; and Crime Prevention and At-Risk Youth, including assistance to populations vulnerable to being victims of crime or at risk ofrecruitment into criminal organizations. Althoughthe State Department has not published CBSI funding statistics by country, a February 2019 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report shows that fromFY2010 throughFY2018, the Dominican Republic received almost23% ofCBSI funding, Jamaica

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