The Menace of Drugs

• Author: Trevor Munroe
• Pages: 154-175

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Caribbean Security in the Age of Terror

The Menace of Drugs

Trevor Munroe

Introduction

Before and after 9/11 the Caribbean has been at the centre of the world

of drugs but very much on the periphery of the world of terror. As such, for at

least a decade before the September 2001 terrorist attack and its consequential

highlight of the connection between international terrorism and drug

trafficking, Caribbean leaders and citizens have been expressing anxiety

about the magnitude of the drug problem whilst more or less ignoring the

issue of terrorism. At the beginning of the 1990s the West Indian Commission

set up by the CARICOM Heads of Governments and constituted by eminent

leaders of the Caribbean private sector and civil society concluded that,

‘CARICOM countries are threatened today by an onslaught from illegal

drugs as crushing as any military excursion.’1 This assessment was evidently

shared by the man in the street. The Commission reported that:

in .... consultations in country after country, the anxiety of citizens about

these dangers... have been raised consistently. There is acute awareness that

in our small societies, they spell disaster for people, for institutions, for

values, for the fabric of society itself; and there is concern that the menace

is steadily growing.2

A decade after the publication of this Report and ten Heads of CARICOM

Governments Conferences later, the anxiety of the people and the concerns of

the leadership remain. A MORI International survey of public opinion3 in six

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The Menace of Drugs

Eastern Caribbean states found in February – March 2001 that drugs and

related issues of crime/law and order ranked second only to employment/

jobs in the peoples’ perception of the major problems facing these countries.

In December 2001, continued leadership anxiety led to the convening of the

‘high level meeting on Drugs and Crime’ in Port of Spain attended by 24

governments, six overseas territories, nine international organisations and

12 regional institutions. This meeting heard grim words from host Prime

Minister Panday, ‘that there had been an increase in the addicted population

with more drugs staying within the region’ and that there was ‘a close and

undeniable connection between the illicit drug trade ... and the commission

and financing of crimes and the emergence of underground communities

characterised by gang culture’.4 In the same vein, the 22nd Conference of

Heads of Government held in Nassau, Bahamas in July 2001 had ‘expressed

concern over the new forms of crime and violence that continue to pose

threats to the Region’s security’.5 The Heads set up a Regional Task Force on

Crime and Security, one of whose areas of central focus would be, ‘to examine

the interconnected nature of the newer forms of crime, which involve illicit

drugs and arms, and money laundering.’6

These decades-long expressions of concern among leaders and people

alike have been accompanied by impressive plans of action. In May 1996,

for example, representatives of 35 states and territories, the European Union,

seven inter-governmental organisations, six regional bodies, a number of

UN specialised agencies and non-governmental organisations met in

Bridgetown, Barbados and produced a Plan of Action for Drug Control

Coordination and Cooperation in the Caribbean.7 Its 67 recommendations

encompassed the development of national drug bodies and master plans in

each territory, the elaboration of legislative measures, effective law

enforcement, demand reduction as well as maritime and aerial cooperation.

A year later, in May 1997, the first ever summit in the Caribbean between a

US President and Caribbean Heads of Government endorsed the Barbados

Plan and added new areas of joint US-Caribbean action in the regional anti-

drug struggle.8 A Caribbean drug control coordination mechanism was set

up under the auspices of the UNDCP and periodically reviewed significant

progress made in implementation of the Barbados Plan. In December 2001,

a high level meeting on Drugs and Crime was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad

and Tobago to further review progress in putting the Barbados Plan into

effect.

Despite these efforts, however, on the eve of 9/11, the Caribbean remained

at the centre of key aspects of the global illicit narcotics trade. In 2000, a