[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO PROVIDE COUNTER-NARCOTICS ASSISTANCE TO 
         CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES TO ERADICATE ILLEGAL DRUG ACTIVITY

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 1, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support H. Res. 865 which 
urges the United States Government to consider fully and carefully the 
recommendations in the UNODC and World Bank Report entitled ``Crime, 
Violence, and Development: Trends, Costs, and Policy Options in the 
Caribbean.''
  Although using Caribbean nations as major transit points for illegal 
drugs is not a new problem, it does shed light on a longstanding 
issue--the U.S. policy on providing assistance to the Caribbean nations 
in combating illegal drug activity. A major contributing factor to 
illegal drug activity remains the lack of resources Caribbean nations 
possess to combat this growing and menacing problem.
  This problem will not resolve itself. Some steps the United States 
should take to assist the member states of CARICOM and the Dominican 
Republic include, but are not limited to: coordinating policy 
development and implementation, providing counter-narcotics assistance, 
and a continuance of policy initiatives that are working, such as the 
bilateral cooperation between the United States and the Government of 
Jamaica. Under this initiative, the U.S. provides training and material 
support to sections of Jamaican law enforcement agencies to strengthen 
their counter-narcotics capabilities. This is an excellent example that 
should be modeled throughout the Caribbean.
  It is imperative for the United States to work with CARICOM member 
states and the Dominican Republic to establish effective programs to 
mitigate and ultimately, eradicate illegal drug activity. This will 
take a coordinated and aggressive collaboration by CARICOM member 
states, the Dominican Republic and the United States to have an impact 
on drugs being transported through the Caribbean and into the U.S. Even 
though this is a very daunting problem, working together and fully and 
carefully considering the recommendations in the UNODC and World Bank 
report is certainly a major step in the right direction.

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