Border Security and Cooperative Initiatives to Counter Illicit Drug Trafficking: The Case of Jamaica and the USA

The illegal flow of drugs continues to undermine states border security. The chapter utilizes a document analysis of secondary source data from the USA Homeland Security and border security agencies in Jamaica. It aims to assess the security challenges posed by the Jamaica-USA trafficking of drugs and explores how border security measures function in reducing this problem. The Container Security Initiative, Customs Trade Partnership against Terrorism, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the Jamaica-USA Maritime Counter Drug Agreement (Shiprider Agreement) and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative will be explored to assess how these border security initiatives aid in curtailing drug flows to the USA. The chapter discusses the role of border security in detection, deterrence and apprehension via coordinated intelligence driven strategies. It concludes that the trans-border nature of illegal drug flows necessitate increased state-to-state sustained future cooperation especially within the context of globalisation.