Speeches

Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Agreement Signing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

October 21, 2005

The Honorable Frederick A. Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Public Service, and distinguished guests, good morning.  I am very pleased this morning to be here to sign this year’s amendment to the Letter of Agreement on Narcotics Control and Enforcement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
 
This year’s renewal will provide $592,000 from the United States Department of State.  This funding represents a continuation of our longstanding commitment to cooperation with the Government of the Bahamas that dates back more than twenty years.  Since we began, we have provided over $14 million dollars through the State Department and $30 million annually through OPBAT to help strengthen the capacity of Bahamian law enforcement to meet the challenge posed to your country by drug traffickers.
This years funding includes $270,000 to be used to increase the efficiency of the Bahamian Police and Customs Department through enhanced training and equipment, $282,000 in direct support for OPBAT operations, and $40,000 to assist local prevention and drug demand reduction initiatives. 
 
For more than twenty years The Bahamas has been one of the United States closest and most successful allies in the fight against illegal narcotics trafficking.  Our joint efforts have made a difference.  In the early 1980s an estimated eighty percent of the cocaine bound for the United States from South America passed through the Caribbean corridor.  Today, that number is below ten percent.  Last year our joint effort resulted in the interdiction of more than 1,700 kilos of cocaine and 5,500 kilos of marijuana.
 
While the cooperation of our international partners is critical to reducing the supply of illegal drugs, the United States recognizes that American demand for these drugs fuels the drug trade.  That is why we have devoted increasing resources to treatment and prevention programs.  Forty percent of all federal government drug spending, $4.5 billion, goes directly to prevention and treatment programs.  State and local governments spend similar amounts on prevention and treatment.  As a result of these efforts, the United States has seen a seventeen percent reduction in illicit drug use since 2001.

The inescapable fact is that combating the drug trade requires a global effort.  It requires that we work together in common purpose to reduce the supply of -- and the demand for -- illegal drugs.  The United States remains committed to taking action in close cooperation with partners such as The Bahamas against drug trafficking and the criminal activities linked to it. 

The funding we will provide, as a result of the signing of this agreement, is but one example of this commitment to work with our friends.  

I look forward to the continued cooperation of our two countries and to reducing the flow of illegal drugs through The Bahamas. 

Thank you.