Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris has disclosed that the U.S. is investing more than $100 million in the Caribbean region to crack down on weapons trafficking, help alleviate Haiti’s humanitarian crisis and support climate change initiatives.
The U.S. number two person made announcement ahead of an official trip to the Bahamas for a meeting of Caribbean and U.S. leaders hosted by Harris and Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis.
It was clarified that as part of the initiatives, the U.S. Justice Department expects to appoint a coordinator to oversee cases involving illegal weapons smuggling in the Caribbean as island nations report a rise in violent crimes.
More so, the State Department vowed to help improve forensic work in the region, help strengthen local police departments and support a unit based in Trinidad and Tobago aimed at helping islands solve gun-related cases and provide training for the collection and analysis of related intelligence.
Reports said the U.S., with help from the U.K., will establish a program in the eastern Caribbean to mentor local judges and prosecutors in a bid to improve prosecutions of gun-related crimes as island nations struggle with a backlog of cases.
It was also said that the State Department also expects to work with Haiti’s National Police, a severely underfunded and understaffed agency struggling to quell a surge in gang violence, to help investigate and prosecute crimes with U.S. ties that involve gangs, weapons smuggling and human trafficking.
That initiative is considered key given that gangs are estimated to control up to 80% of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince as killings and kidnappings soar across the metropolitan area and beyond.
Delineating on the development, Harris stated that the U.S. Agency for International Development will invest nearly $54 million in Haiti to help fight a sharp rise in starvation and provide access to potable water and healthcare. Records have it that almost half of Haiti’s more than 11 million people are facing acute food insecurity, and 19,000 are in catastrophic famine conditions.
It was also said that another $10.5 million will go toward supporting Haiti’s agricultural sector as poverty deepens.
Authority noted that USAID also expects to invest $20 million to help Caribbean businesses that use technologies related to renewable energy and energy efficiency. Another nearly $15 million will be used to boost emergency response and preparedness across the region.
It was also reported that additional funds will help low-lying island nations whose economies largely depend on tourism prepare and adapt to climate change.
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