A ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Eliot L Engel, says the Caribbean Basin Security initiative (CBSI) could be among programmes that will suffer as a result of the “dangerous funding cuts” proposed by President Donald Trump international affairs budget next year.
The US State Department website describes the CBSI as one pillar of a US security strategy focused on citizen safety throughout the Caribbean.
“CBSI brings members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic together to collaborate on regional security with the United States as a partner. The United States is making a significant contribution to CBSI, committing US$437 million in funding since 2010.”
Engel said that the parties have identified three core objectives to deal with the threats facing the Caribbean, namely substantially reduce illicit trafficking through programmes ranging from counternarcotics to reducing the flow of illegal arms/light weapons; increase public safety and security through programmes ranging from professionalising law enforcement institutions through technical assistance and training, to improving rule of law by supporting the development of the justice sector.
They have also identified the need to promote social justice through crime prevention activities in targeted communities, police and justice sector reform, anti- corruption programmes, and increased educational, economic and social opportunities for at-risk youth.
Speaking at an Institute of Caribbean Studies National Caribbean-American Legislative Forum, over the last weekend, Engel, who represents the majority of Caribbean nationals in New York and particularly in Bronx and Kings Counties, said that the 32 per cent budget cut being proposed by the Trump administration will have disastrous effects on the Caribbean region.
He said, as an example, the Congress had between 2010 and 2017, appropriated roughly US$500 million for the CBSI and that about US$57.7 million was appropriated in 2017.
“President Trump has proposed cutting CBSI funding for 2018 to US$36.2 million. That’s US$57.7 down to US$36.2. That’s a lot of money. That’s a 36 per cent cut. And I am working to try to make sure that doesn’t happen, but your help and support on this front is needed now more than ever.” Engel said that with Venezuela on the brink of collapse and its petrodollars drying up, he firmly believes that “our friends in the sub-region need us more than ever.
“And quite frankly, the United States shouldn’t only be engaged because Venezuela’s influence is waning. We should be engaged, because the Caribbean matters deeply to us in a range of ideas, from security to energy to trade and economic cooperation.”