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12/04/03
Since
joining the FBI, Director Robert Mueller has focused closely
on strengthening relationships with international partners
in the global war on terror and the fight against transnational
crime.
In fact,
he has traveled to meet colleagues in Afghanistan, Germany,
Great Britain, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan,
the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, to name just a few
countries.
On Tuesday,
he made his latest international visit -- to the Caribbean.
The
Caribbean? Absolutely. For years, law enforcement
officials in the region have been instrumental in helping
us with cross-border fugitives and drug trafficking organizations,
money laundering operations, human smuggling rings, and other
criminal enterprises.
More
recently, the focus has shifted to terrorism — an important
issue given the Caribbean’s proximity to our nation’s
southern border and its offshore banking resources.
Which
is why the FBI in recent years has set up international offices,
called Legal Attaches, in Bridgetown, Barbados, and Santo
Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The Legal Attaché
in Caracas, Venezuela, which borders the Caribbean Sea, is
also responsible for relationships with some islands in the
area.
The
Meeting. On December 2, the Director traveled to
Bridgetown specifically to meet and talk with law enforcement
leaders at the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police
(ACCP) Conference. The ACCP, dedicated to improving cooperation,
information sharing, management, and training in the region,
is made up of the heads of 24 Caribbean police agencies. Six
ACCP members are graduates of the FBI National Academy in
Quantico, Virginia.
During
his visit, the Director underscored the importance of partnerships
in the region, saying: “We have different ways of looking
at different crimes and handling defendants within our own
judicial systems. In fact, we must, as police agencies look
to sharing information quickly and expeditiously because to
do so now would prevent the next crime and the next terrorist
attack.”
Partnerships
Paying Dividends. How do partnerships with our counterparts
in the Caribbean help U.S. investigations? Here are just a
few recent examples:
- During
the D.C. sniper investigation, Acting Commissioner Elton
Martin of the Royal Police of Antigua helped the FBI conduct
42 joint interviews on the island, where Lee Malvo and John
Muhammad first met.
- Last
April, Guyana police helped the FBI secure the safe release
of a kidnapped U.S. embassy official in Georgetown, Guyana.
- Commissioners
Francis Forbes of Jamaica and Darwin Dottin of Barbados
helped FBI Agents in Los Angeles trace the funds of a Russian
organized crime group in their countries, which was crucial
to a recent kidnapping/murder investigation.
For its
part, the FBI assists Caribbean law enforcement investigations,
shares information on terrorism and other security threats,
and provides a variety of training courses and programs. It’s
a partnership that helps protect people across the world.
Related
links: The
Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police
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