Obama vows to strengthen Caribbean-US relations

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: President-elect of the United States, Barack Obama has committed the US government to increasing security measures in the Caribbean.

"Latin America and islands in the Caribbean have one of the highest murder rates in the world. The Attorney General and Homeland Security Secretary will meet their Caribbean and Latin American counterparts in the first year of the Obama presidency to produce a regional strategy to combat drug trafficking, domestic and transnational gang activity, and organized crime,” said Obama.

US President-elect Barack Obama. AFP PHOTO

In order to achieve these goals, Obama indicated plans to strengthen the police force and judiciary in many Latin American and Caribbean countries which would include the development of data-driven and technology-supported policing systems.

In addition to these improved security measures, Obama outlined his plan to aid in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme poverty in the world by 2015 by doubling foreign assistance to US$50 billion.

Also, the President-elect said he intends to amend the North American Free Trade agreement and to provide one hundred percent debt cancellation for heavily indebted poor countries such Guyana, Bolivia, St Lucia, Paraguay, Honduras and Haiti

Obama slammed the George Bush’s policy in the Americas which he describes as “negligent, ineffective and disinterested” in the challenges that matter in people’s lives, and incapable of advancing the US interests in the region.

“As the Americas have changed, we have sat on the sideline, offering no compelling vision and creating a vacuum for demagogues to advance an anti-American agenda,” he outlined

The Obama administration has vowed to rebuild diplomatic links throughout the hemisphere by bolstering US interests in the region by pursuing policies that advance democracy, opportunity, and security and will treat our hemispheric partners and neighbors with dignity and respect.

In the case of Cuba, Obama says, they will empower their best ambassadors of freedom by allowing unlimited Cuban-American family travel and remittances to the island.

Obama and Biden believe that they need to target all sources of insecurity through a new hemispheric security initiative. “This initiative will foster cooperation within the region to combat gangs, trafficking and violent criminal activity. It will strive to find the best practices that work across the hemisphere and to tailor approaches to fit each country,” the president elect outlined.