Prime Minister Holness and Honourable Carlos Del Toro, US Navy Secretary
As Jamaica continues to make significant progress with respect to our economic security, we have placed equal priority on our national safety and security. To this end, I continue to have high level discussions with our international partners, particularly the United States, in bolstering our national security apparatus.
Jamaica’s maritime space, a critical zone and feature of our national security is 22 times our landmass, requiring significant patrolling capacity.
On Tuesday, I met with the Honourable Carlos Del Toro, US Navy Secretary, to discuss how Jamaica and the United States can cooperate, as Jamaica seeks to be proactive in securing its maritime borders, especially against a backdrop of years of non-surveillance which has given rise to both terrorism and narco-terrorism.
I noted Jamaica’s comprehensive security plan, Plan Secure Jamaica, and opportunities for strategic reciprocal partnership with the United States that will advance our realization of several national security objectives.
Having identified guns from the United States as a major player in Jamaica’s crime problem, we continue to advocate for greater effort on the part of the US in launching an assault on guns similar to that on drugs as we seek to ensure the safety and security of our people and arrest the erosion of our image as a place of sun, sea, sand and “no problem”.
Of equal importance is Jamaica’s capacity to respond to humanitarian crises, particularly as a country within a region that is prone to hurricanes. In this regard, we are seeking to collaborate with the United States in building our internal capacity to respond to regional natural disasters such as we have seen in the past, especially in a context where our usual partners might be preoccupied with their own issues.