Jamaica and Cuba Renew Agreements to Fight Transnational Crime

Jamaica and Cuba have strengthened cooperation in the fight against the illicit trade in guns and drugs and human trafficking in their territorial waters.

This is under the Maritime and Police Cooperation Agreements, which were renewed on Wednesday (December 9).

Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, and Cuba’s Ambassador to Jamaica, Bernardo Guanche Hernandez, inked the deals during a function at the Ministry’s Oxford Road offices in Kingston.

Minister Bunting said that trafficking of all types will be targeted under the agreements that were first entered into in 2011.

“The emphasis will be against drug trafficking, human trafficking, firearms and ammunition,” he noted.

He informed that the police authorities of the two states, as well as the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Coast Guard, and the Border Guard Troops Division of Cuba will be the security groups charged with enforcing the accords.

The last Jamaica/Cuba Maritime and Police Cooperation Agreements expired at the end of September.

Minister Bunting noted that the renewal of the pacts is a clear signal that the Governments of Jamaica and Cuba are committed to ensure that “criminals do not take control of the territorial space of both countries.”

“Transnational crime continues to be a global threat and the Caribbean alliance against this phenomenon has to be fostered and strengthened. These agreements continue to provide value to Jamaica’s law enforcement efforts in securing our nation’s borders,” he pointed out.

Jamaica’s National Intelligence Bureau will be significantly aided in its tasks under the renewed agreements.

The areas that will be strengthened are communication, in terms of the exchange of intelligence, as well as the daily performance of duties to detect and deter transnational criminal activities.

For his part, Ambassador Hernandez noted that Jamaica is a valuable partner in the fight against transnational crime in the region.