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1 1 (April 28, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govello0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service informning 1hw iegisIathve debate sinco 1914 Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Updated April 28, 2023 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, advance public safety and security, and promote social justice. Because of their geographic location, many Caribbean nations are vulnerable to being used as transit countries for illicit drugs from South America destined for the U.S. and European markets. Strengthened U.S. counternarcotics cooperation with Mexico and Central America 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 associated with drug trafficking activities. President Obama announced the initiative at the fifth Summit of the Americas in 2009, and, in 2010, U.S. and Caribbean representatives held an inaugural Caribbean-U.S. Security Cooperation Dialogue, which approved a declaration of principles, a framework for engagement, and a broad action plan. In May 2022, Caribbean and U.S. officials held the 10th security cooperation dialogue, with discussions focused on combatting firearms trafficking, countering illicit maritime trafficking and transnational organized crime, preventing youth crime and violence, cybersecurity and cybercrime, and human trafficking. In 2017, the State Department released a U.S. strategy for engagement in 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 mutual national security and advancing citizens' safety through programs to dismantle criminal and terrorist organizations, curb the trafficking of illicit goods and people, strengthen the rule of law, and counter vulnerability to terrorist threats-all efforts central to the CBSI. Congress has supported funding for the CBSI. From FY2010 through FY2023, Congress appropriated $913 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 (see Table 1 and Figure 1). For FY2023, the Biden Administration requested $63.5 million for the CBSI, almost 21% less than appropriated by Congress for FY2022 and 15% less than provided for FY2021. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328, Division K), Congress appropriated not less than $82 million for the CBSI, and the explanatory statement to the measure required a spend plan prior to the obligation of funds. For FY2024 the Biden Administration has requested $64.5 million for the CBSI, 21% less than Congress appropriated for FY2023. The FY2024 request for CBSI includes $28 million of Economic Support Funds, $29 million of International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement aid, and $7.5 million of Foreign Military Financing. The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act, introduced in the Senate (S. 841) in March 2023, would authorize $74.8 million for the CBSI for each fiscal year from FY2023 through FY2027. A variation introduced in the House (H.R. 1802) would authorize $82 million for the CBSI for each fiscal year from FY2024 through FY2028. Both H.R. 1802 and S. 841 would establish monitoring and reporting requirements for the initiative. In addition, both bills would require the State Department, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Inter-American Foundation, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to submit a strategy to prioritize efforts to increase disaster response and resilience. Coordinated by the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere affairs and implemented largely by the State Department, USAID, and the Department of Defense, the CBSI has targeted U.S. assistance in five areas: Maritime and Aerial Security Cooperation, including assistance to strengthen Caribbean maritime and aerial operations capability, improve radar coverage, and sustain those capabilities; Law Enforcement Capacity Building, including assistance to improve law enforcement though police professionalization, anti-corruption training, and community-based policing; Border/Port Security and Firearms Interdiction, including support to improve capacity to intercept smuggled narcotics, weapons, bulk cash, and other contraband at airports and seaports; Justice Sector Reform, including support to increase the efficacy of prosecutors and criminal courts and reform and strengthen juvenile 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 report showed that from FY2010 through FY2018, the Dominican Republic received almost 23% of CBSI funding, and Jamaica just over 19%.

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