(Photo by Juan Pablo PINO / AFP) (Photo by JUAN PABLO PINO/AFP via Getty Images)

Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Todd D. Robinson, Assistant Secretary Robinson and United States Coordinator for Caribbean Firearms Prosecution, Associate Deputy Attorney General Michael P. Ben’Ary, will travel to Saint Lucia, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago on May 6-10, 2024.

In Saint Lucia will underscore U.S. efforts to help our Caribbean partners counter firearms trafficking and announce additional INL assistance to further equip and train frontline customs officers to interdict small arms and light weapons at major Caribbean ports of entry. He will also meet with local officials to discuss opportunities to strengthen Eastern Caribbean regional security cooperation through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, including at the U.S.-supported Saint Lucia regional Forensic Center of Excellence.

In Barbados, he will visit the Regional Security System and discuss U.S. investments into the Regional Police Training Center, which will serve as the future regional training hub for Caribbean law enforcement partners.

In Trinidad and Tobago, the Assistant Secretary will highlight progress made on major deliverables announced by the Vice President last summer, including on the Caribbean Crime Gun Intelligence Unit (CGIU), a landmark unit helping to counter the influx of firearms to the Caribbean region. The event will emphasize the importance of collaboration with regional partners such as the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS), law enforcement from across the entire Caribbean, and U.S. interagency partners. The Assistant Secretary also will discuss support of future law enforcement capacity building and criminal justice system modernization with the Minister of National Security and other government officials.

For more information, please contact INL-PAPD@state.gov and follow INL on X/Twitter at @StateINL.