News Americas, New York, NY, Mon. November 4, 2024: The United States and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) co-hosted a high-level interagency meeting on October 31 to strengthen cooperation against firearms trafficking through the CARICOM Criminal Arms Intelligence Unit, (CGIU).
Held under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) in Washington, DC, the US delegation included officials from the National Security Council, the Office of the Vice President, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of Trade. The Caribbean was represented by leaders from the Caribbean Community Enforcement Agency on Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) and the CGIU.
Since its inception in 2022, the CGIU has facilitated the exchange of information between Caribbean and US law enforcement agencies, featuring a team of one manager, investigator and six intelligence analysts funded by CARICOM. Officers from Barbados, the Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been sent to support the unit. In addition, the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) has allocated $2.2 million over the past two years to support the CGIU, with additional funding from CARICOM.
This meeting reflects a commitment outlined in the joint statement from the Eleventh Caribbean-US Security Cooperation Dialogue to increase support for the CGIU and strengthen regional and international intelligence sharing on criminal weapons.
