[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
THE BIDEN ADMINSTRATION'S EFFORTS TO
DEEPEN U.S. ENGAGEMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
WESTERN HEMISPHERE, CIVILIAN SECURITY,
MIGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
June 23, 2021
__________
Serial No. 117-52
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/, http://docs.house.gov,
or http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
46-573 PDF WASHINGTON : 2022
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York, Chairman
BRAD SHERMAN, California MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas, Ranking
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey Member
GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
KAREN BASS, California SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania
WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts DARRELL ISSA, California
DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois
AMI BERA, California LEE ZELDIN, New York
JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas ANN WAGNER, Missouri
DINA TITUS, Nevada BRIAN MAST, Florida
TED LIEU, California BRIAN FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania KEN BUCK, Colorado
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee
ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota MARK GREEN, Tennessee
COLIN ALLRED, Texas ANDY BARR, Kentucky
ANDY LEVIN, Michigan GREG STEUBE, Florida
ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, Virginia DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania AUGUST PFLUGER, Texas
TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey PETER MEIJER, Michigan
ANDY KIM, New Jersey NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, New York
SARA JACOBS, California RONNY JACKSON, Texas
KATHY MANNING, North Carolina YOUNG KIM, California
JIM COSTA, California MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida
JUAN VARGAS, California JOE WILSON, South Carolina
VICENTE GONZALEZ, Texas
BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois
Sophia Lafargue, Staff Director
Brendan Shields, Republican Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration and
International Economic Policy
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey, Chairman
JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas MARK GREEN, Tennessee, Ranking
ANDY LEVIN, Michigan Member
VICENTE GONZALEZ, Texas AUGUST PFLUGER, Texas
JUAN VARGAS, California MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida
Alexander Brockwehl, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
WITNESSES
Lochman, Laura, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State........... 7
Feinstein, Barbara, Acting Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator,
U.S. Agency for International Development, Bureau of Latin
America and the Caribbean...................................... 12
Fulton, Heide, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of
State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs........................................................ 21
APPENDIX
Hearing Notice................................................... 41
Hearing Minutes.................................................. 42
Hearing Attendance............................................... 43
STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Statement submitted for the record from Chairman Sires........... 44
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Responses to questions submitted for the record.................. 47
THE BIDEN ADMINSTRATION'S EFFORTS TO DEEPEN U.S. ENGAGEMENT IN THE
CARIBBEAN
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere,
Civilian Security, Migration, and International
Economic Policy,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3 p.m., in
room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Albio Sires
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Sires. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you to our
witnesses for being here today. This hearing, entitled ``The
Biden Adminstration's Efforts to Deepen U.S. Engagement in the
Caribbean,'' will come to order.
Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a
recess of the committee at any point. And all members will have
5 days to submit statements, extraneous materials, and
questions for the record subject to the limitation in the
rules. To insert something into the record, please have your
staff email the previously mentioned address, or contact the
subcommittee staff.
As a reminder to members joining remotely, please keep your
video function on at all times, even when you are not
recognized by the chair. Members are responsible for muting and
unmuting themselves. And please remember to mute yourself after
you finish speaking.
Consistent with H.R. 8 and the accompanying regulations,
staff will only mute members and witnesses as appropriate, when
they are not under recognition to eliminate background noise. I
see that we have a quorum, and I now recognize myself for
opening remarks.
I am glad we are holding this hearing to talk about the
region that is too often overlooked. The countries of the
Caribbean are among our closest neighbors. Yet we frequently
fail to pay enough attention to this region. As chairman of the
Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I am committed to ensuring
that we focus more on the Caribbean going forward. I also want
to commend my friend, Greg Meeks, the chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Committee who has been very clear since the start of
this Congress that the Caribbean should be a top priority for
the United States. I know Chairman Meeks agrees with me that
the best way for us to show we are ready to elevate the
Caribbean in our foreign policy is by sending vaccines to the
region as quickly as possible. I applaud the Biden
Adminstration for its announcement that it will donate 80
million vaccines globally by the end of June. However, today, I
am urging the Adminstration to quickly step up our efforts in
the Caribbean.
Many countries in the region are relying on Chinese
vaccines because we aren't providing any alternative. Other
countries like Haiti have yet to distribute a single vaccine
dose while the pandemic claims more lives each day. Given the
direct travel routes between the Caribbean countries and the
U.S., and the close ties between our diaspora communities in
our countries and throughout the Caribbean, it is vital to U.S.
national security that we help Caribbean overcome this
pandemic. We should be proud of the fact that the vaccines for
those in the United States are the most effective in the world.
While I understand that the Biden Adminstration wants to
strengthen COVAX, I believe that we should be sending vaccines
directly to countries in need. We should get the credit for the
vaccines we donate.
Beyond vaccines, we need to work with our Caribbean friends
on the long road to recovery in the wake of the pandemic. Many
of these countries depend heavily on tourism, an industry that
has been crushed by the pandemic which is likely to rebound
slowly.
In the Dominican Republic, we have a government that is
eager to deepen engagement with the United States. But so far,
they have had to rely on vaccines from China. We should step up
and send vaccines to our partners in need. We should also help
support their fight against corruption and deepen our security
cooperation under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.
In Guyana, where I traveled last year, we should work to
ensure the profits of oil revenues benefit the entire
population. As I said during the trip, we want to engage all
actors in Guyana, including businesses, civil society, the
current government, and the opposition to advance inclusive
economic growth.
The severe flooding that Guyana has faced in recent months
is a reminder that climate change is having devastating impacts
on our friends in the Caribbean. We need to step up our efforts
to support climate resilience and energy security in the
region.
In Haiti, I am deeply concerned about the gang violence
that has spiraled out of control under a government that is no
longer able to carry out its most basic functions. In just 2
weeks, over 8,000 women and children have been forced from
their homes in Port-au-Prince due to this violence according to
the United Nations. I am glad that Secretary Blinken spoke out
against a constitutional referendum there. We must do more to
help the Haitian people overcome the economic and political
security crisis they are facing.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about how we
can deepen our economic and security cooperation with partners
in the region and harness the Development Finance Corporation
to counter China's influence in the region and help advance a
rapid economic recovery.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created tremendous challenges for
the Caribbean, but it also provides an opportunity for us to
demonstrate our commitment to this region. I truly help hope
that we will sieze this opportunity. Thank you, and I will now
turn to the ranking member, Mr. Green, for his opening
statement.
Mr. Green. Thank you, Chairman Sires. I really appreciate
you holding this committee. And I want to thank our witnesses
for being here today. Thank you. Thanks for your service to the
country.
I am glad we are hosting this hearing and convening this
discussion. For too long, the United States Caribbean policy
has lacked a strategic focus. The region is a key gateway to
the United States, it is an important economic partner and for
trade and tourism, it is a vital component of U.S. national
security, and it holds the largest block of Taiwan's diplomatic
allies. I hope the full committee will hope to prioritize the
Caribbean basin moving forward.
In 2021, the region's future is bright, but not without
significant challenges impacting both the United States and the
greater Latin American community. The Caribbean struggles with
persistent violence, transnational criminal networks, drug
trafficking. In 2019, roughly 24 percent of the cocaine
departing South America transited through the Caribbean Sea,
including both maritime vessels and illicit aircraft. That is
why the United States launched the Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative, or CBSI, a regional security initiative to reduce
drug trafficking and promote safety and security. I am proud to
co-lead the reauthorization of the CBSI this Congress with
Congressman Espaillat--we must double-down our efforts against
drug trafficking that wreaks havoc in our region and a
corruption that allows them to survive. Our bill helps do just
that by providing the resources necessary to improve security
cooperation and combat the criminal organizations that
victimize their own countries as well as our own.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disseminated key resources,
economic growth, trade, travel, tourism. According to the World
Travel Tourism Council, the Caribbean was the world's most
tourism-reliant region before the pandemic. But in 2020, these
sectors took the largest hit, of course, experiencing a 58
percent decrease when compared to 2019.
As countries continue to get vaccinated, we must prioritize
resuming the longstanding U.S.-Caribbean travel and tourism
industries. And while the 2020 hurricane season wasn't that
significant, 2021 remains an unknown. And the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Adminstration has predicted that there may be
as many as 10 hurricanes this season. An average season sees
seven.
I look forward to hearing from USAID on how you guys are
working with regional partners on disaster preparedness and
response management. 2020 also proved to be a pivotal year for
the Caribbean's energy resources with Guyana's oil sector
growing and potentially providing an alternate to Venezuela's.
The oil and gas sector is critical to their country and could
transform it from one of the Caribbean's poorest countries to
its wealthiest.
The Chinese Communist Party has vastly increase its
influence in the Caribbean over the past 20 years with 13
Caribbean countries having signed on to China's Belt and Road
Initiative. The CCP has expanded its network of loaned-back
infrastructure projects to resume in telecom investment and
relationship with regional defense counterparts. China's
disregard for the environment is a huge threat to the Caribbean
tourism industry. That is why I am drafting a bill to move
supply chains away from Communist China and into the Western
Hemisphere. Our dependence on China is a threat to our national
security, and the Western Hemisphere must become more
economically independent if we are to safeguard our future.
The Caribbean is a region of strategic importance and
numerous challenges. I am hopeful that today's hearing can shed
some light on the region as we work to prioritize our Caribbean
partners. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Sires. Thank you very much, Ranking Member Green. I
will now introduce Ms. Laura Lochman. She is the Acting Deputy
Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere
Affairs. Ms. Lochman is a career member of the Senior Foreign
Service with over 30 years' experience in policy analysis and
implementation. Most recently, she was the director of the
Office of Canadian Affairs. She has served in overseas
assignment in Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil, and in
Washington, and the Office of Cuban Affairs--wow--and the
Bureau of South Asian Affairs. She holds a bachelor of arts
from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Ms. Lochman, we welcome you to our hearing. You have to
tell me about this Cuban thing you have here.
We will then hear from Ms. Barbara Feinstein. She serves as
the Acting Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator with the USAID
Bureau of Latin America and the Caribbean. Ms. Feinstein
overseas the agency's development priorities in Central
America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Before joining the LAC
Bureau, she was the Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Legislative Affairs in USAID Bureau for Legislative and Public
Affairs. She holds a master's degree in international and
political affairs from Princeton University and a bachelor of
arts from the University of California Berkeley.
Ms. Feinstein, thank you for joining us today.
Finally, we will hear from Ms. Heide Fulton. She is
currently the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western
Hemisphere Programs in the Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement. Ms. Fulton most recently served as the
director of the Office of the Mexican Affairs. Before that, she
led the U.S. Embassy in Honduras and as Deputy Chief of Mission
and then as Chief of Mission from 2016 to 2019. She also served
as a Director of Counternarcotics at the Kabul Embassy in
Afghanistan and as a counselor for public affairs in Quito,
Ecuador. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she served in
Active Duty in Iraq. She retired from the U.S. Army Reserve in
June 2020 after 28 years of service. She is a graduate from
Boston College and earned her master's from Troy State
University.
Ms. Fulton, thank you for your service and for joining us
today.
I ask the witnesses to limit your testimony for 5 minutes.
Without objection, your prepared written statements would
be made part of the record.
Ms. Lochman, you are recognized for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF LAURA LOCHMAN, ACTING DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY,
BUREAU OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Ms. Lochman. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Sires, Ranking Member Green, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify before you
today on this important issue. For decades, the United States
has partnered with the Caribbean people to promote stronger and
more vibrant communities. Today, the Caribbean region is
experiencing a sharp economic downturn caused by the COVID-19
pandemic. This has devastated government revenues and caused
rising unemployment, which could bring more crime, irregular
migration, and malign activity by State and non-State actors
unless we continue our support.
Through the U.S.-Caribbean 2020 strategy, we have sought to
increase and deepen U.S. engagement with Caribbean nations. We
are now building on that strategy to guide interagency
activities into the future. On April 21, Secretary Blinken met
with CARICOM foreign ministers to highlight our commitment to
working with all countries in the region to advance bilateral
and regional interests. We also actively engaged Caribbean
nations multilaterally to confront some of the region's most
pressing challenges, including the growing threat to democracy
and human rights in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on June 3, the
Adminstration announced plans that the global distribution of
25 million U.S. vaccine doses, of which approximately 6 million
doses are designated for Latin America and the Caribbean. On
June 21, the Adminstration announced its plan for the remaining
55 million of the 80 million doses President Biden pledged to
allocate by the end of June, including an additional 14 million
doses for Latin America and the Caribbean to be shared through
COVAX. Moreover, the United States is purchasing an additional
500 million doses of Pfizer vaccines and donating them to 92
low and lower middle income countries as defined by Gavi's
COVAX advanced market commitment.
The United States is an important commercial and trade
partner of the Caribbean region. We are the Caribbean Basin
Initiative, CBI, we maintain a positive impact on a number of
Caribbean basin economies. On March 22, the House--excuse me--
the White House launched the Small and Less Populous Island
Economies, or SALPIE, initiative, which is a framework designed
to further strengthen U.S. economic collaboration with island
countries and territories in the Caribbean, North Atlantic, and
Pacific regions.
On energy, USAID's Caribbean Energy Initiative marks a
planned 5-year $25 million investment in a more sustainable,
reliable, and resilient energy future for the Caribbean. We
have also identified a need for diversification of energy
supplies and promotion of U.S. exports to address challenges
and promote Caribbean energy security.
Through the State Department-led U.S.-Caribbean Resilience
Partnership, USCRP, we seek to strengthen Caribbean partner
resilience to the impacts of climate change and severe weather-
related events. USCRP guides efforts to advance and coordinate
U.S. and partner country resilience around the objective of
supporting adaptation to climate change, enhancing regional
disaster preparedness, providing geological hazards monitoring,
and disaster mapping, and developing resilient infrastructure.
On education, we seek to build human capital in the region
through increased educational activities by coordinating
regionwide engagements through academic and professional
exchange programs, and massive online open courses, as well as
increasing opportunities with diaspora and education
stakeholders to build networks between the U.S. and the
Caribbean.
Finally, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, CBSI, a
regional security partnership with 13 Caribbean countries co-
led by the U.S. Government, CARICOM, and the Dominican
Republic, remains the centerpiece of our security efforts. CBSI
programs advance our goals to reduce illicit trafficking,
improve public safety and security, and prevent youth crime and
violence.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I look forward to
your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Lochman follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Sires. Thank you very much.
I now turn to you for your testimony, Ms. Feinstein.
STATEMENT OF BARBARA FEINSTEIN, ACTING SENIOR DEPUTY ASSISTANT
ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT,
BUREAU OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Ms. Feinstein. Chairman Sires, Ranking Member Green, and
distinguished members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the
United States Agency for International Development. Over the
past several months, the United States has heard from leaders
across the Caribbean on their most pressing needs as they work
to increase their resilience to natural disasters and climate
change and overcome the challenges of COVID-19, either health,
economic, or security-related.
Caribbean leaders seek enhanced investment in disaster
resilience and hurricane preparedness, increased support for
crime and violence prevention, help to strengthen health and
education, and, above all, access to COVID-19 vaccines. And as
a neighbor, partner, and friend of the Caribbean, the United
States stands ready to respond, both because it is the right
thing to do and because doing so is in our national interest.
As we begin the hurricane season, USAID is well poised to
support the region in its time of need. With a team of 100-plus
disaster experts located across the Caribbean and pre-
positioned emergency relief supplies to prioritize humanitarian
needs during major storms and other emergencies. USAID is
already providing nearly $5 million to assist more than 20,000
people displaced by the recent eruption of the La Soufriere
volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. And in Guyana, we
are supporting more than 36,000 families as they recover from
devastating floods. In Haiti, where escalating violence
continue to paralyze economic activity and trigger the
displacement of individuals in whole communities, USAID has
provided more than $34 million to address emergency food
security needs and prevent malnutrition, reaching over 580,000
Haitians.
But while we support countries during their time of crisis,
we are also helping the Caribbean to build greater resilience
at the national, regional, and local levels by improving
disaster risk reduction, promoting biodiversity conservation,
generating data to improve climate forecasting and strategic
planning, and supporting communities to plan for and adapt to
shocks.
USAID is also increasing energy resilience in the region--
in this region, which, as you know, has some of the world's
highest energy costs. Through our $25 million 5-year Caribbean
Energy Initiative, the agency is working to help diversify the
energy sources used in the region's grids, strengthen
infrastructure to withstand major shocks, and enhance the
ability of utilities to manage their grids for greater
resilience.
Of course, the most pressing issue facing the Caribbean
today is COVID-19, whose impacts stretch well beyond the health
sector. To date, USAID has provided more than $28 million in
health, humanitarian assistance, vaccine support, and economic
growth funding to respond to COVID impacts in the Caribbean.
On June 6, as my colleague mentioned, the White House
announced its plans to purchase and donate 500 million doses of
COVID-19 vaccines to 92 countries, several of which are in the
Caribbean. And the region will also benefit from the White
House's announcement of more than 20.6 million excess doses
from the U.S. domestic supply.
USAID is well-positioned to complement these deliveries
with technical assistance to support equitable vaccine
distribution and planning.
As members of this committee are well aware, high rates of
crime and violence remain endemic in the region. Through the
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, USAID is helping to
improve the efficiency of judicial systems, promote governance,
and fight corruption. Importantly, our work also helps to
provide at-risk youth from the highest crime municipalities
with educational, economic, and social opportunities to ensure
that they can live productive and peaceful lives.
In Saint Kitts and Nevis, for example, we have seen a
sizable increase in target communities' perceptions of safety
as a result of our efforts with perceptions increasing from 54
percent in 2018 to almost 70 percent just 2 years later. And
approximately 60 percent of eastern and southern Caribbean
youth who completed USAID-sponsored work force development
programs have now secured employment in the retail,
hospitality, and tourism sectors.
Yet, while these results are heartening, we recognize that
much more remains to be done. And with this committee's strong
support, we stand ready to continue to respond.
To that end, it is important to note how our model of
assistance differs from others, namely, that of the People's
Republic of China, which furthers dependence or unsustainable
debt. By contrast, the U.S. model is one of partnership with
the countries in which we work. Our assistance promotes a
country's own development path consistent with our shared
values and interest. Again, thank you for your commitment to
the Caribbean, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Feinstein follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Sires. Thank you.
Ms. Fulton, you are recognized for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF HEIDE FULTON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS
Ms. Fulton. Thank you, Chairman Sires, Ranking Member
Green, and distinguished members of the panel. Thank you for
calling this hearing and for the opportunity to appear before
you today to discuss the progress of U.S. diplomatic and
foreign assistance in the Caribbean, our third border.
Today's hearing comes at a difficult time for our Caribbean
partners who face violent crime and high homicide rates driven
by increased gang-related violence, illegal firearms trade, and
impunity as a result of ineffective criminal justice
institutions. Our security partnership with our Caribbean
neighbors remains fundamental to combating these shared
challenges that threaten the safety and security of citizens
across the region and in the United States.
The mission of the Department of State's Bureau of
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, or INL, is
to keep Americans safe by countering crime, illegal drugs, and
instability abroad. Under the Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative, or CBSI, which was established over a decade ago,
we work in partnership with 13 countries and regional security
institutions to build law enforcement and justice sector
capacities, to reduce drug trafficking and criminal threats to
the United States, to enhance citizen security, and to hold
criminals accountable.
While the challenges are immense, I am confident that the
partnerships we have developed under CBSI and bilaterally with
Haiti have better positioned our Caribbean neighbors to
confront drug trafficking, undercut the profits of gangs and
criminal groups, and to build more effective criminal justice
institutions.
Maritime security is central to INL's efforts to combat
drug trafficking in the region. For several years, INL has
partnered with the Coast Guard on a multiprong maritime
capacity-building program to improve vessel maintenance,
develop interdiction capability, and enhance investigations and
prosecutions. Regional Coast Guard advisors based in the
Dominican Republic support sustainable improvements for
interdiction operations and investigations and will soon expand
across efforts across the region.
Combined with Coast Guard technical assistance and
training, in Fiscal Year 2021, these joint efforts have already
contributed to 29 drug interdictions and 159 individuals
arrested by Dominican Republic partners. We are also working to
enhance subregional cooperation, improve maritime domain
awareness, and develop a regional maritime security strategy.
We prioritize building partner capacity to target illicit
finance and undercut the profits of gangs and criminal groups
that drive violence and instability across the region. In
partnership with the National Center for State Courts, INL is
implementing a civil asset recovery project that works with
partner governments to draft model legislation and train
financial investigators, attorneys, and judges. The six CBSI
countries implementing such legislation have recovered more
than $1.27 million in cash and $2.5 million in property since
2013, which is reinvested into strengthening Caribbean security
criminal justice sector institutions. A host of larger actions
valued at more than $60 million are currently underway.
Building the capacity of regional institutions is critical
to INL's efforts in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Community's
Implementation Agency for Crime and Security, or IMPACS, the
regional security system, and Operation Bahamas, Turks and
Caicos, are decades old trilateral counternarcotics partnership
are each integral partners in multiplying and sustaining our
programmatic efforts.
Since CBSI's inception, annual cocaine seizures in the
region have increased more than 200 percent due in part to the
strong regional collaboration which is enabled by the program.
INL recently transferred management of CBSI-Connect, a regional
online law enforcement training program, to IMPACS. Since 2012,
INL has supported the development, maintenance, and
installation of a CBSI-Connect at 17 Caribbean law enforcement
academies, including all CBSI countries, Belize and Haiti.
CBSI-Connect provided Caribbean criminal justice sector
institutions connectivity to ensure key functions continued
during COVID lockdowns, and convinced previously hesitant
justice sector actors of the platforms valued to ongoing
training.
In Haiti, we continue to invest in the professionalization
and expansion of the national police, which, since 2019, has
been the sole guarantor of citizen security. The Haitian police
continues to mature even if they face intensifying gang threats
to law and order and citizen security.
Transnational crime, violence, and insecurity are threats
that we share with our Caribbean neighbors and require our
coordinated and sustained efforts. Where our programs are
matched with committed partners in the region, we see results,
and we will continue to work to ensure the effectiveness of
future programs to build capacity and enhance regional security
cooperation. I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Fulton follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Sires. Thank you. We would now go to questions. I guess
my first question is to you, Ms. Lochman and Ms. Feinstein.
And I welcome the news that the Biden Adminstration is
doing 30 million vaccines that it will send out by the end of
June, and they will go to Latin America and the Caribbean. How
are they distributing these vaccines in this region?
Ms. Lochman. Thank you very much for that question, Mr.
Chairman. Yes, we are now in the process of working with
partners in the region, both on a----
Mr. Sires. Who are the partners?
Ms. Lochman. CARICOM's public health agency, CARPHA, as
well as directly with certain of the bilateral governments to
work out the modalities for the transfer of these vaccines. So
these discussions are ongoing right now, and we are trying to
make sure that we can ship them in a way that they arrive
safely and that they maintain their effectiveness, since, as
was pointed out earlier, the U.S. does produce the most
effective vaccines in the world. And we are working with the
recipient countries to make sure that they have the means to
store them in the proper conditions and distribute them. And,
in that regard, USAID is helping on the ground.
Ms. Feinstein. Thank you, just to complement that response,
I would add, the White House, as we speak is working very
closely with the State Department, with Gayle Smith's office,
as well as USAID, CDC, et cetera, and partners on the ground to
try to figure out how to navigate the complex modalities of all
of this. Part of it depends on the particular vaccines that are
used. Obviously, as you know, if Pfizer is going to be used,
then that requires ultra-cold chain storage and certain levels
of logistics. If different ones are used, then that requires
different modalities. So these are all questions that right now
the White House is working through. And my understanding is
that there is a commitment to the allocations being completed
by June, and then, shortly thereafter, we will expect to see
those deliveries begin.
And just to reference, as colleague said, USAID is working
with these host country governments, with CARICOM, in
particular, to work on equitable distribution strategies, and
to try to work with the strategic planning.
Mr. Sires. See, I do not have much time left. Here is where
I have a problem. You have China going in and giving directly
to these islands, the vaccine. They take all the credit. Why
can't we do the same thing and take the credit instead of
giving it to COVAX or CARICOM? They may be great organizations,
but I am not looking to build those organizations, rather I am
looking to build our position in the Caribbean. And our
position in the Caribbean should be that we should send the
vaccines directly to these people, let them know that it is the
United States that is helping. And the Adminstration probably
wants to buildup COVAX, whatever, but I am not interested in
doing that. I wish the Adminstration would directly do that.
And we have plans; we do things better than most people. Our
vaccine is the best vaccine. And China goes into, for example,
Dominica, they gave them 35,000 vaccines. They have 70,000
people on the whole island. I mean, why can't we do that and
get the credit? That just bothers me too much to let it go.
Ms. Feinstein. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think your
concerns are very well-founded in terms of the United States
being able to get the credit for the generosity of these
vaccines. And all I can tell you on that front is I know that
the White House is very focused on communication strategies
that are tailored to each donation that goes out to ensure that
it is very clear to the people of those countries that this
donation is coming from the U.S. Government. In addition, all
of the vaccines that are going through Gavi COVAX will be
branded with the American flag on there as a further
investigation that this is coming from the United States.
Mr. Sires. That is a good step. Now, the other issue that I
have is that there are all these loans that China is giving to
these islands. What are we doing to offset that, some of these
places, that they do not take all the credit from China, you
know?
Ms. Lochman. Thank you very much for that question, Mr.
Chairman. The United States is the natural partner of the
Caribbean due to our strong historical, economic, commercial,
cultural ties. And we are very present in the region. But you
are correct that the PRC has, you know, made it a point to try
to gain more of a foothold in the Caribbean region. And they
have done this through, as you say, loans, grants, Belt and
Road Initiative, as well as COVID-related assistance and
weather disaster-related also. So the United States is
advancing our positive agenda, particularly on the economic
side, to try to counter this and to be the best partner
possible to the Caribbean. And this includes supporting
infrastructure investment that is competitive, transparent, and
upholds the highest standards, environmental, social, labor
standards, which right there distinguishes our investment. We
also promote resilience to the impacts of climate change,
which, as you noted, is a very significant concern of the
Caribbean. And this is through the U.S. Caribbean Resilience
Partnership.
In addition, we provide assistance in promoting energy
supply diversification in helping them build more resilient
energy systems. And related to telecommunications, as this is
the concern as well, we encourage our partners to prioritize
security as they build out their 5G networks and to
specifically exclude untrustworthy high-risk vendors as they do
so.
We also have deepened cooperation between Taiwan and the
region. It was mentioned earlier they are partners. Yes, sir?
Mr. Sires. Yes, my time is way past, and I want to make
sure all of the other members have the same amount of time.
Thank you.
Ms. Lochman. OK. Thank you.
Mr. Sires. Congressman Green?
Mr. Green. Well, Chairman, that was my question.
My question, No. 1, from Ms. Lochman. But sort of
continuing on that theme with the CCP, as we move supply chains
from China to Latin America and, specifically, the Caribbean,
what are some segments or particular industries that you think
the Caribbean would--that American companies and other
companies should look to move to the Caribbean both for
opportunity there and decreasing our dependence on Chinese
manufacturing?
Ms. Lochman. Thank you very much, Mr. Ranking Member, for
that question. You know, we agree the United States can't
address its supply chain vulnerabilities alone. Even as the
U.S. makes investments to expand domestic production capacity
for some critical products, we must work with allies and
partners, including in the Caribbean, to secure supplies of
critical goods that we will not make in sufficient quantities
at home. So we will work with allies and partners to strengthen
our collective supply chain resilience while ensuring high
standards for labor and environmental practices are upheld. And
I----
Mr. Green. Is there a particular industry or segment that
you think we could target for moving to the Caribbean area?
That is really my question.
Ms. Lochman. And I think this is something that, along with
other U.S. Government agencies, we can be looking at and work
in tandem with you as well to identify some of these sectors.
Mr. Green. Yes, that is--I mean, it is time to roll the
sleeves up and get it done, right? So let's motivate garment--
the garment industry. Or let's--you know, certain agricultural
industries, or other things. We got to get manufacturing,
specifically, moved from China to Latin America.
But, Ms. Fulton, a quick question for you. And, first,
thanks for your service in the Army. Which aspects of CBSI have
seen the greatest success? And how can our security cooperation
be improved in the Caribbean?
Ms. Fulton. Thank you, sir. Overall, cocaine seizure from
CBSI countries have risen substantially since the beginning of
the initiative, rising from 5.5 metric tons in 2010 to a high
of 22.6 metric tons in 2017. Even last year, despite COVID
constraints, more than 17 metric tons were seized. So there has
been a tangible impact in terms of----
Mr. Green. That is a 400 percent increase. OK.
Ms. Fulton [continuing]. Yes, sir. As the partnership has
matured, we have been focused on strengthening regional
security institutions so as to enable our partners to more
effectively confront the challenges that they face. And this is
where our partnership with CARICOM IMPACS has been, I think,
quite successful. The training that has been sustained through
the COVID period on the virtual platform that I mentioned
during my remarks I think has substantially enabled the
partners, despite the challenging conditions of the pandemic.
We have continued on with our work in areas, for example,
with the Dominican Republic, which is a location where
approximately 90 percent of the cocaine that does go through
the Caribbean, the percentage that you mentioned earlier, it
does go through the Dominican Republic. We have yielded a
substantial increase in cocaine interdictions. The government
of the Dominican Republic has performed admirably in this
regard. Their security forces seized more than 15 metric tons
and--in 2020. And then, so far in 2021, they have already
apprehended 5.2 metric tons. And so those increases alone are
really quite remarkable.
We have donated vessels to the Bahamas that have been used
in intelligence-driven interdiction operations. And we are
working on financial crime measures across the Caribbean to
enable countries to implement asset seizure legislation and
then invest the proceeds of the assets that they seize back
into their systems so as to continue the strengthening and
sustainability.
Dominican security forces, again, another highlight of the
work that they are doing in cooperation with U.S. law
enforcement, they dismantled one of the largest drug
trafficking organizations in the Caribbean with the capture of
OFAC's sanctioned kingpin Cesar Peralta in Colombia in December
2019.
Narcotics seizures are one important component of the, I
would say, the fruits of the collaboration that we have had
with CBSI. But we have also made investments in citizen
security and rule of law. The INL supported 911 system, the 911
system that we have partnered with the Dominican Republic to
implement, has been an essential component to reduce violence
and increase public support for the police in that country. In
Trinidad and Tobago, INL's Resistance and Prevention Program
has reduced homicides and enterprise, which is a high crime
community in that country.
Mr. Green. If I could, what I might do is just have you--if
you could just submit, just send me a letter, or submit a
letter for us to put into the record. I am out of time.
Ms. Fulton. Yes, sir.
Mr. Green. But I want to hear more about what you are
saying. Because this is the kind of success stories that we
need to hear about. So thank you.
And, Mr. Chairman, I yield.
Ms. Fulton. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Sires. Thank you.
Congressman Castro.
Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairman. I want to express the
concern that I expressed to Gayle Smith and others at USAID and
others in the State Department within the last few weeks about
the donation, the sale of vaccines to countries around the
world, including in Latin America and the Caribbean. And that
is I am concerned that, as we are making these donations or
sales or in COVAX where--that we are not sufficiently requiring
countries to put forward a strategic plan to be successful--and
not just in receiving the vaccines; that is one thing. But as
we know from our own experience domestically, it is one thing
to have the vaccines, it is quite another to have the
infrastructure in place to successfully get those vaccines in
arms. And my concern is that, in a year or two or three or four
or five, there are going to be all these stories about how we
donated a million vaccines somewhere and only half of them got
used.
There was a case of--I believe the Democratic Republic of
Congo that sent back 1.1 million or 1.3 million vaccines that
they weren't able to use. So, if you think about it, if it was
tough in American urban areas to be able to make sure that all
of these vaccines were used in a timely manner, I can only
imagine that challenges around the world in other places, both
in urban and rural settings, to actually have those vaccines be
effectively deployed.
So I say that just for anybody that is having conversations
in the Adminstration, internally, about this issue, I have a
really--and not to lay blame, but I think that we are--you
know, obviously, we are in a very big hurry to make sure that
we get vaccines out around the world, which we should be. But I
am also concerned that once they get out, I am wondering what
the effectiveness rate is going to be of actually deploying
them. So but that is separate. I probably have time for one
question because I have gone on long about that.
But, Ms. Feinstein, I have a question for you. Countries in
the Caribbean have expressed interest in accessing support from
the DFC for critical energy infrastructure investment. But per
capita income levels for many countries are above DFC
thresholds. And so how has the restriction on the DFC working
in upper middle-income countries affected the U.S. Government's
ability to undertake development projects in the Caribbean and
in Latin America?
Ms. Feinstein. Thank you very much, Congressman, for that
question. If I could briefly touch upon vaccines and then also
DFC.
Mr. Castro. Sure.
Ms. Feinstein. Just to say, very much validating all of the
comments and concerns that you have articulated, and they very
much echo all of the conversations going on within USAID at
this point and among practitioners who work on these issues.
While, as you mentioned, it is absolutely urgent and vital that
we provide these vaccines, we need to do so in a way that is
equitable, that gets to especially marginalized and vulnerable
populations, that it is done so in an efficient manner and also
getting at issues around vaccine hesitancy, which is major
concern also in the Caribbean as well as in other countries.
So, to address these issues, I would note that actually a
congressional notification went up yesterday for American
Rescue Plan funding to provide USAID with the resources to work
with individual countries on their strategic planning to try to
get at some of these issues. That being said, these are
monumentally difficult challenges, so we are going to--I
certainly give you our commitment. We will work as hard as we
can on it and with the smartest people in this field to try to
have that kind of--so that these donations are not for naught
and do not go used for wasted.
Mr. Castro. And, again, and I know we are all concerned
about it. And not to diminish your work or even to lay blame
because I know we are trying to move as fast as we can. But you
are right, I think we need to focus on working with the
countries to really making sure that they can get their
vaccines into arms. Again, it was a big problem in American
cities for us. So.
Ms. Feinstein. Now, with regard to the DFC and the
impediment in terms of the high-income thresholds, it is
certainly an obstacle. I think the places where we have seen
DFC investments, particularly in terms of loan guarantees are
those countries like Haiti, like Jamaica, where we do not have
the same kind of obstacles or impediments.
On energy, in particular, as I mentioned in my testimony,
USAID began 2 years ago now this Caribbean Energy Initiative
where we are making the kind of investments to help countries
with their transition to renewable energy. For example, in
Barbados, we are helping them to carry out their strategy to
shift to renewables by 2030. We have helped the country of St.
Lucia to revise their grid to allow for the use of renewable
energy. So there is a lot of work we are doing in that space.
But if we could work more closely with the DFC in that area,
that certainly would be beneficial.
Mr. Castro. Wonderful. So thank you for both those
responses. And I am just about out of time, so I yield back,
Chairman.
Mr. Sires. Thank you.
Congresswoman Salazar?
Ms. Salazar. Thank you. And thank you to all of you for
being here. And I would like to ask you a few questions, Ms.
Lochman, about Cuba. You know the American consulate has a
skeleton crew in Havana due in part to the sonic attacks in
2017. You have 100,000 Cubans waiting for family reunification
visa interview. Guyana is a possible destination for that
interview, but the plane ticket is $7,000 on the black market.
My district is the heart of Miami is inundated with
relatives begging to finalize that process. One of them is
Edgar Barrios. He is a 10-year-old child with leukemia, and the
Nicklaus Children's Hospital is waiting to give him treatment
but needs a visa to come into the United States. Nonetheless,
in May 19, the American consulate opened its doors to give
visas to 30 baseball Cuban players to come to play in West Palm
Beach. That is grotesque. It is embarrassing. So I just would
like you to explain to me who makes these decisions? Yes to
baseball players, but not to sick kids with cancer?
Ms. Lochman. Thank you, Congresswoman, for your question. I
will take this back to my colleagues who focus on Cuba at the
State Department, and we will work with your staff to make sure
that we get a full answer to you.
Ms. Salazar. But didn't you know this reality? 30 baseball
players versus sick children? You didn't know this?
Ms. Lochman. No--I do not follow Cuba myself ma'am, but we
will definitely----
Ms. Salazar. But you are the Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Cuba is part of the Caribbean.
do not you think that this is embarrassing for any
Adminstration?
Ms. Lochman. Yes, I will definitely take this back,
Congresswoman, and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
Ms. Salazar. And I would very much, yes, would like you to
explain to me who makes these criteria because it affects the
heart of my district. I am not being histrionic. I am just
speaking for thousands of people who feel what I am telling
you.
Now, when will the State Department designate another
country to conduct the final interview so these people can
come, as the law says, to the United States with that family
reunification visa? Do you know?
Ms. Lochman. I personally do not. And, again, we will work
closely with your staff on all of these questions to get you
adequate answers.
Ms. Salazar. But I really would like the State Department
and your office to do--work very closely with us.
Ms. Lochman. Understood.
Ms. Salazar. And can we--do you know the answer to
Guantanamo? Can we open the Guantanamo Naval Base so those
Cubans can come and conduct that final interview on Cuban soil?
Is that a possibility?
Ms. Lochman. Again, we will definitely get you answers to
all of these questions.
Ms. Salazar. But I am a little bit appalled. And, Ms.
Lochman, I am sorry you do not know what is really happening in
Cuba vis-a-vis the United States and what is happening in the
Embassy and the consulate and the sonic attacks and the
skeleton crew. Are you aware? What are you aware of?
Ms. Lochman. Yes, in my role, I follow the Caribbean, which
is CARICOM and Dominican Republic and Haiti. And there are
other individuals who cover Cuba in the Western Hemisphere
Bureau.
Ms. Salazar. And you are not the person?
Ms. Lochman. Correct.
Ms. Salazar. So who would that be person be?
Ms. Lochman. The Acting Assistant Secretary Julie Chung is
ultimately responsible for the bureau. And then Emily Mendrala
is the Deputy Assistant Secretary following Venezuelan and
Cuba.
Ms. Salazar. So do you think that maybe my office or myself
could have an interview with them as soon as possible? Because
maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we could
definitely find a visa for this child named Edgar Barrios, who
has leukemia and is dying.
Ms. Lochman. We would be happy to work with you on that.
Ms. Salazar. That would be--that is very gratifying. And I
feel much better that the State Department has the intention of
working with us in solving this type of visa. And I thank you.
So I yield back.
Mr. Sires. Thank you. Congressman Levin.
Mr. Levin. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Thanks for holding this
important hearing, and thanks to all of our witnesses. I would
like to direct my first question to Ms. Lochman regarding
elections that are slated to take place in Haiti later this
year. Secretary Blinken appeared before our committee earlier
this month and made clear the Biden Adminstration opposes the
constitutional referendum that had been planned for this month,
which, thankfully, has now been postponed. Secretary Blinken
also said, and I am quoting, ``We still think there is a
possibility and opportunity if the appropriate steps are put in
place to have an election.''
As you know, I have been extremely concerned that free and
fair elections in Haiti this year are simply not possible. So I
am pleased the Adminstration is looking closely at the
conditions on the ground there and what they might mean for
elections and their credibility and, frankly, their
possibility.
Ms. Lochman, the Provisional Electoral Council, the CEP,
was not created through legitimate process under the Haitian
constitution. Voter registration is way behind. Kidnappings,
rapes, murders, and general impunity are widespread. De facto
President Moise failed to organize elections for other levels
of government and is seen as having overstayed his mandate by
the vast majority of the organizations and constituencies that
make up patient civil society.
Would you tell us more specifically what the State
Department would consider the appropriate steps that would have
to be put in place for Haitian elections organized under Moise
this year to be considered free, fair, and credible?
Ms. Lochman. Thank you very much, Congressman, for those
questions. And if I can take them maybe in sequential order.
You referenced first the referendum. And what you understood
from Secretary Blinken is exactly the case, which is we do not
support the constitutional referendum. And we believe that the
focus of the Haitian Government, the Haitian society, should be
squarely on holding free and fair legislative and Presidential
elections this year. Obviously, it is up to the Cuban people
whether they seek to reform their constitution or not, but we
believe that it should be done in a process that is open,
participatory, and transparent, and that, so far, it has not
been. And, again, the focus should be on elections. And granted
there are serious concerns regarding security and preparation
for elections in Haiti, we are monitoring those circumstances.
We are working with the United Nations, with the Organization
of American States, with the core group of countries to, you
know, with the Haitian Government to try to move toward, you
know, having in place the conditions that would allow for
elections this year. We believe it is extremely important,
first of all, to end rule by decree, which has been going on
since January 2020, and to have a democratic transfer of
executive power in February of next year. And then the
legislature needs to be reinstated, and you can only do that
through elections. So we will continue to work in every way we
can to try to enable elections this year. And I am sorry your
next, on the----
Mr. Levin. Well, let me just say that having elections for
elections' sake when they are not credible and won't work just
delays the restoration of democracy. We have to accept reality
and do what has been done in the past in Haiti where things got
into this kind of a situation, and, you know, have some kind of
a provisional government that can restore democratic
conditions. Because any election held under the de facto
President Moise just simply will not be free and fair and
credible. And so you are actually--whatever good intentions, we
are just going to be delaying the actual restoration of
democracy.
Let me move on and ask about vaccines and efforts to
control the COVID surge. And I will direct these questions to
you, Ms.--is it Feinstein or Feinstein? What is your flavor? I
want to get it right.
Ms. Feinstein. Whichever you prefer depends----
Mr. Levin. Oh, my goodness----
Ms. Feinstein [continuing]. On a member of my family.
Mr. Levin [continuing]. OK. I am grateful that the Biden
Adminstration has recognized the dire need for vaccines in
Haiti and other countries and has made Haiti a priority in its
distribution efforts. But I worry that vaccines aren't making
it to Haiti quickly and, that once they do, I am concerned
about obstacles around distribution efforts in countries, as my
colleague, Mr. Castro was referencing.
Can you share with us any updates about when you expect--
let me ask you a few questions. You can sort of answer them in
however you want. First of all, when do you expect promised
vaccines to reach Haiti? And then what is being done now to
ensure that, once the vaccines are delivered, distribution
plans are in place to make sure they reach those who need them
and to make sure they aren't diverted?
And then I am hearing a lot from colleagues in the medical
field, in hospitals, especially, in parts of our country that
have big Haitian American communities about desiring to get to
vaccine doses that may go to waste in our country and get them
to Haiti. And I wonder if USAID is working with, you know, our
partners like hospital systems. I hear from people who run
hospitals in Haiti who say, give us the doses, we can
distribute them, and there are just no doses in sight for the
Haitian people. So, Mr. Chairman, I do not know if it is OK for
them to--for her answer to answer the question. I realize I
have----
Mr. Sires. You just used up the second question. The second
5 minutes.
Mr. Levin. I think he says you can answer. That is my
interpretation. So go for it.
Ms. Feinstein. Thank you, Congressman, for those important
questions. So, with regard to vaccines, we are as frustrated as
everyone is by the delays in the delivery of the AstraZeneca
vaccines, we understand, have been caught up due to supply
chain issues in India and obviously the needs in India. So I
unfortunately do not have a specific date for when those will
arrive. I do not know if my colleague has updated information.
I wish I did, but regrettably we do have that.
With regard to helping Haiti on COVID more broadly and then
with regard to vaccines, we have ongoing programming right now
that we, shortly after the pandemic, began to help with risk
communications, water and sanitation. And perhaps our biggest
effort there has been related to oxygen, which as you know is
absolutely critical for providing that kind of support when
somebody has a severe case of COVID.
And, in fact, since you know the country so well, I would
share that, just a few weeks ago, we had a nightmare situation
over the weekend where Father Rick from the St. Luke's Hospital
reached to USAID and said that oxygen that was supposed to be
headed his way--you may have been tracking the situation in
real time--was cut caught up by gang violence at the docks
where, in fact, the shipments could not actually proceed to the
hospital. It was a terrible situation. We looked to see could
DOD do anything. No, they weren't able to. What could USAID do?
In the end, thankfully, some kind of agreement was reached, and
the oxygen was able to get to St. Luke's. And the people who
were needing it that weekend were able to survive as a result.
Thankfully, as a result of that crisis situation, we were
able to work with the Ministry of Health in Haiti and provide
dedicated oxygen supply onsite to the hospital. And we have
additional resources where we are surging more support for the
oxygen ecosystem into Haiti.
With regard to the vaccine distribution plan, right now,
that is being handled by CDC, the kind of technical assistance
that we are providing in the eastern and southern Caribbean and
elsewhere. CDC is providing that kind of technical support.
However, as I mentioned, in the congressional notification that
went up yesterday, we expect to also have additional resources
for USAID to be able to work with the government of Haiti.
However, as I mentioned to Congressman Castro and as you well
know, the challenges are immense. In addition, regular
challenges anywhere are difficult. In Haiti, given the security
situation, possibility of diversion, gang violence, et cetera,
it only makes it that much more difficult. But as we have more
information, I am happy to share that with you.
RPTR WARREN
EDTR SECKMAN
[4 p.m.]
Mr. Levin. Thanks very much.
Let me say, in closing, Mr. Chairman, Ms. Feinstein, I want
to work with you on the energy transition because I think we
have to think a lot bigger about it, and it could be
transformative for our relationships with countries throughout
the Caribbean and Latin America more broadly. But the best
answer to all the anxiety about Belt and Road and the Chinese
is not to be reactive or defensive but in a big-hearted and
broad-shouldered American way go in and partner with these
countries and go way, way beyond what we have done in terms of
onshore wind, offshore wind, solar, micro grid storage, and so
forth. So let's meet separately about that.
Thanks, Mr. Chairman, for your forbearance. I yield back.
Mr. Sires. We are going to go down a second round since Mr.
Levin started the second round already.
I--we took a trip last year to Curacao. Curacao? Curacao?
And one of the things that we saw there was the impact of the
Venezuelan migrants. It was almost a crisis. They kept
complaining how a country that had low crime, all of a sudden
crime was a problem, obviously because they couldn't work, and
they couldn't find work. So it didn't help the situation.
I was just wondering what has been the impact of our
assistance to the Caribbean to support Venezuelan migrants and
refugees and what more can be done because we, you know, as
they hop from island to island, obviously, the same situation
is going to be developed. So I am just wondering what impact
has our assistance to the Venezuelan migrants made. Anyone?
Ms. Lochman. I could start and pass it to my colleague.
Yes, you are absolutely correct. Nearly 5.6 million
Venezuelans have fled their country, and it is a U.S. priority
to provide humanitarian aid not only to those in the country
but to those who have had to flee. So we will continue to work
with other partners to get humanitarian assistance to these
individuals.
And in that regard perhaps I could turn the microphone over
to my colleague from the USAID.
Ms. Feinstein. Thank you. And this is a very critical
issue, Mr. Chairman. Glad that you raised it. Our efforts from
USAID have primarily been focused in Trinidad and Tobago and in
Guyana on the issue of Venezuelan migrants.
In Trinidad and Tobago, we had a program that literally
just ended last year where we worked with the receptor
communities to try to reduce conflict between the migrants, to
try to increase better understanding between those communities,
to provide psychosocial support also to the migrants who had
come, access to education there. We also funded a hotline for
migrants to report cases of abuse because, as you know, they
are very much victimized in T&T and in other places that they
have migrated to. So and the good news there is that many of
those practices and processes have been taken over by local
agencies, by other partners. I know that the State Department's
Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration also has
programming in many of these countries.
In Guyana, our focus has been more on gender-based violence
with regard to Venezuelan migrants, since that that has been a
terrible problem there. And in that sense, we have been
connecting migrants with counseling, financial aid, food
support, employment opportunities, cross-cultural exchange,
legal support, and classes in English. So our efforts there
continue, though, obviously, this is a problem that is not
going away anytime soon and warrants increased resources and
attention.
Mr. Sires. Do you know anything about the refinery in
Curacao? Curacao? Is it still functioning or--at one time it
wasn't. Does anybody know? No? OK. That was a
[inaudible] issue.
Ms. Lochman. Mr. Chairman, we are happy to get back to you
with information on that.
Mr. Sires. Good. Thank you.
Congressman Green.
Mr. Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My next question is for Ms. Feinstein. Obviously disaster
resilience is better than disaster response. Can you tell how
we are helping for resilience against hurricanes, et cetera?
Ms. Feinstein. Thank you very much for that question,
Congressman.
So, as you said, this is something that we see as a
critical investment. Clearly USAID has and will continue to
provide responses in the event of disasters. However, if we can
shore up these countries' actual resilience--and that takes a
number of forms--then we will be in much better shape, as will
they.
So, to give you a few examples, we have worked at the
regional level and what that has looked like is providing
support for the Caribbean Emergency Management Agency, Disaster
Emergency Management Agency, CDEMA, to strengthen their own
protocols, to strengthen their own coordination abilities, to
strengthen their own abilities to forecast, to provide early
warnings to countries within the CARICOM region so that they
can plan better responses to that. So we have been shoring up
their capacity again so it is not just the United States going
in every time.
Similarly, another institution in the region is the
Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, and we have
helped to get them accredited in that field on an international
basis. So, again, they have State-of-the-art systems for the
kind of weather forecasting that will assist countries in the
region.
At a local level, we are also working through the Inter-
American Foundation to work with small communities and they do
so on a cost-matching basis, whether that is in-kind or actual
resources, to work on disaster planning at the local level and
also on community resilience projects, for example, mangrove
nurseries or other coastal restoration, coral reef restoration,
et cetera, so that they can do their part with regard to
resilience.
And, obviously, we recognize this isn't just a disaster
issue. It is also critical to the tourism industry, as both you
and Chairman Sires have mentioned. And so, in that sense, we
also have done work in the energy space in Jamaica and
elsewhere to make transitions to renewable energy and other
aspects to try to allow, whether it is hotels or other
institutions, to spring back more effectively from disasters.
Mr. Green. Good. No, that is great to hear.
I will tell you, Mr. Chairman, I thought we had lots of
acronyms in the Army. USAID and the State Department have just
about as many.
Ms. Lochman, a question for you. It would appear that, over
the past 15 or so years, China's economic influence in the
Caribbean area has gone from $1 billion to $8 billion.
Obviously, that is a concern for us. You and I--I asked you
about the CCP earlier. Getting a little more specific, are
there any free trade agreements or preferential agreements that
we can establish that would help us be the go-to for the
Caribbean and keep China from pushing its influence into the
region?
Ms. Lochman. OK. Thank you very much for that question, Mr.
Representative.
We do have trade programs and that is under the Caribbean
Basin Initiative, the CBI, and that involves trade preferences,
and they were augmented with the passage of the Caribbean Basin
Economic Recovery Act, as well as the Caribbean Basin Trade
Partnership Act, and then, for Haiti, the HOPE and HELP
programs.
So those are, you know, powerful tools in that sense to
promote the economic development of some of our closest
neighbors. And I had mentioned earlier in promoting our
positive economic agenda in the region, which allows us to be
the partner of choice, there is one initiative that is very new
and was announced by the White House just in April and that is
the SALPIE, the Small and Less Populous Island Economies
Initiative, and that initiative will finance group the
activities of approximately 29 U.S. Government agencies and
departments. And so it will be a method of coordinating what we
do across the U.S. Government vis--vis economic development in
the region.
Mr. Green. Would it be possible--and you can do so in a
letter, I do not need it today--rattle off the names of the
islands but if you could perhaps send our office or put into
the record via writing what the names of those islands'
countries are.
Ms. Lochman. Absolutely.
Mr. Green. Thanks.
Ms. Lochman. Yes, we will do.
Mr. Green. I think, Mr. Chairman, I am over. So----
Mr. Sires. Ms. Fulton, we areputting together a codel--that
is fine. Thank God it is not an evacuation--we are planning a
codel, and we are going down first to SOUTHCOM. I was wondering
if you can tell me what we can ask, what we can expect, you
know, when we get down there. I have been there once before,
and, obviously, security is a big concern and trafficking is a
big concern. So----
Mr. Green [continuing]. So the 295?
Mr. Sires [continuing]. Right, yes, right. You got it.
So if you have any suggestions, please.
Ms. Fulton. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I think it would be--I think
your visit would be welcome, and I know that the leadership at
SOUTHCOM would be happy to provide you with an overview of the
activities and their efforts to partner with Caribbean Nations
to improve their security and domain awareness. We coordinate
closely with SOUTHCOM, and there are a variety of efforts
underway that I am sure that they would be happy to brief you
on in greater detail in preparation for that trip as you
determine where to go.
And as we talked yesterday, we will be happy to provide a
list of suggestions. I think that the Dominican Republic,
Haiti, and Jamaica would probably be--I would recommend them
being at the top of your list, but I think we will get back to
you in a more fulsome way with some suggestions for your
consideration.
Mr. Sires. OK. Thank you.
Ms. Fulton. Yes, sir.
Mr. Sires. Thank you again for joining us.
As I said at the beginning of this hearing, I believe we
need to take immediate steps to distribute vaccines directly to
the Caribbean. I look forward to working with Ranking Member
Green and our colleagues to deepen U.S. engagement with the
Caribbean and elevate the Caribbean as a priority for U.S.
foreign policy and national security.
With that, the committee is adjourned. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 4:10 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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