NCJ Number
177731
Date Published
1997
Length
314 pages
Annotation
This book examines the nature and scope of Caribbean drug operations; probes the security implications of these operations and the problems they precipitate; and assesses countermeasures adopted at the national, regional, and international levels to address the operations and resulting problems.
Abstract
The operations examined are drug production, consumption- abuse, trafficking, and money laundering. Security related to these operations is viewed by the author in terms much broader than traditional security concerns. The increase in the production and flow of drugs in the Caribbean region has undermined the political stability and economic development of Caribbean countries, because it has increased crime, corruption, and arms trafficking, while reducing the income from tourism. Although the Caribbean countries are democracies, with the exception of Cuba, the need to commit military and paramilitary forces in the war against drugs can seriously undermine democratic governance in the Caribbean nations. Further, the involvement of powerful countries, such as the United States, in countermeasures to address drug trafficking internationally can infringe on the sovereignty of the less powerful Caribbean countries. Although the severity of the impact of drug trafficking on Caribbean countries is clear, a strategy of effective countermeasures is not so clear, since the persistent demand for drugs in the United States and Europe ensures that drug trafficking and its detrimental affects will continue. It is clear, however, that if Caribbean countries are to preserve their sovereignty in the face of the drug threat, support is needed from two basic sources: from other countries, both within and outside the Americas, and from nonstate actors. The latter support is required to compensate for reduced aid from states. A 675-item bibliography and subject and name indexes