The 1999 Congressional Presentation for the State Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau (INL) defines five objectives for narcotics control efforts in Jamaica:

1. Improve the ability of the Government of Jamaica to conduct a full range of drug law enforcement operations, including drug interdiction, cannabis eradication, money laundering and asset forfeiture investigations;
2. Strengthen Jamaica's ability to arrest and prosecute major Jamaican traffickers and money launderers, and trace, seize and forfeit their assets;
3. Deny use of Jamaican territory for the illegal diversion of precursor and essential chemicals;
4. Improve the Government of Jamaica's ability to fulfill the terms of our bilateral mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties; and
5. Build public support for strong Jamaican drug control laws and enforcement by informing Jamaicans about the dangers of drugs and the threat drug trafficking poses to their country.¹

The U.S. government has provided counternarcotics assistance to Jamaica since 1987. INC funding for Jamaica between 1987 and 1997 has exceeded that provided to any other Caribbean nation.²

In August 1988, the United States and Jamaica signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) for counternarcotics cooperation, which is amended each year. The LOA, according to the State Department's March 1997 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), "reflects a tradition of cooperation between the U.S. government and Jamaica in narcotics control operations".³

Assistance to Jamaica under the International Narcotics Control (INC) program benefits the police force (Jamaica Constabulary Force, or JCF), the military (Jamaica Defense Force, or JDF), the Jamaican court system and other government agencies with counternarcotics responsibilities.⁴

Extensive training and equipment, including a new program of integrity training for customs personnel, has been provided to the JCF Narcotics Unit, Contraband Enforcement Team, and Port Security Corps.⁵

The Jamaica INC program maintains a Narcotics Law Enforcement project, which supports JDF eradication and interdiction efforts.⁶ The Narcotics Law Enforcement project seeks to help the JDF maintain U.S.-provided helicopters, following cutbacks in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) which previously paid for their upkeep. The project also funds salaries for marijuana cutters, while training and equipping the JDF, JCF, the Contraband Enforcement Team, and Ports Security Corps to maintain "current levels of preparedness."

Jamaica's Joint Intelligence Coordination Center (JICC) was established with U.S. government funding. The government of Jamaica utilizes the center for anti-narcotics data collection and analysis. In 1997, the U.S. government provided the JICC with software and computer upgrades and training. INL seeks to provide additional support to update JICC equipment and provide further analysis training.

Sources:

¹ United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1998): 41.

² United States, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Washington, March 1998, March 2, 1998 <http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/1997_narc_report/index.html>.

³ Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 1998.

⁴ Department of State, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation 41.

⁵ Department of State, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation 42.