Co-ordinated countermeasures of Caribbean countries against the illicit drug traffic: recent developments and prospects.

The illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances presents a growing threat to the Caribbean countries and territories. The geographical location of the Caribbean subregion between the areas in South America producing illicit drugs and lucrative illicit markets in North America and Europe is an important factor contributing to an increasing involvement of the subregion in illicit drug trafficking operations. In addition, the archipelagic configuration of many of the countries and territories of the Caribbean makes it easier for traffickers to escape law enforcement action, thus providing a further stimulus to international drug trafficking. The Caribbean Governments have therefore initiated law enforcement countermeasures to combat drug trafficking and taken legal and administrative action to prevent and eradicate illicit cultivation of narcotic crops, as well as to prevent and reduce illicit demand for drugs. The Governments have also made increasing efforts to improve international and bilateral co-operation to combat drug trafficking and drug abuse. The decisive efforts of Caribbean Governments, however, are impeded, on the one hand, by the limited availability of trained professional manpower and of the technical and economic resources required to combat drug trafficking effectively, and, on the other hand, by the superior financial and technical capacity of the international drug trafficking organizations. The provision of technical and financial assistance by the international community to the countries and territories of the Caribbean is therefore needed to help overcome these constraints and to enable them to cope with the increasing drug problems in the subregion.