Regional and Global Action to Combat Drugs in the Caribbean

Abstract

The Caribbean is a multilingual, multiethnic and multi-cultural region reflecting the historical and current influences of several major powers — Britain, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States. The economies of many countries in the region are dominated by a single industry — sugar, bananas, bauxite, and more recently, tourism and financial services — or a combination of these industries. As a result of their small size and their dependence on foreign trade these economies are particularly vulnerable to external influences. Preferential trade agreements are under threat from global trade liberalization, and in recent times foreign development aid has been diverted or reduced and economic restructuring is causing increased unemployment. Against this background of uncertainty the drug trade has become a significant phenomenon.