Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

The Caribbean Narcoeconomy
The global drug trade is fostered by the general tendencies of globalization to reduce
restraints on cross-border trade and capital flows and to uphold private property and
bank secrecy. It thrives in an environment of secrecy, trade intensity, sophisticated
finance and communications, anonymity, lax regulation, and external and internal
economic vulnerability. The Caribbean closely fits this profile. The insular
Caribbean lies between the Andean region of South America, where close to 90% of
world cocaine is produced, and the major market of the United States where most
cocaine is consumed. Proximity to South America plus a long history of British,
Dutch, French, and Spanish commerce make the islands a natural corridor for sup-
plying cocaine to Europe and for reexporting heroin produced in the Far East, and
Ecstasy produced in Europe (UNODC, 2004). The geography of the region is con-
ducive to the large-scale movement of drugs. The larger islands and mainland coun-
tries (Belize, Jamaica, Guyana, Dominican Republic, and Haiti) provide remote
hinterlands to shelter trafficking. Many others are archipelagic states (Bahamas,
Grenada, USVI, Turks and Caicos, St. Vincent, and Grenadines) with numerous
unguarded points of entry and exit for transporting narcotics. The more remote out-
posts lack resources for either monitoring, much less intercepting contraband.
As a result, presently the value of narco traffic through the archipelago
approaches $5 billion (UNODC, 2003). This exceeds the GDP levels of three
fourths of the islands and the tourism impact of all but Cuba, the Dominican
Republic, and Puerto Rico. It also exceeds the value of all merchandise exports
(petroleum, aluminum ore, rum, etc.) of all Caribbean islands. By value cocaine is
the most significant (85%) followed by ganja (cannabis 13%), and heroin and
amphetamines (2%; Harriott, 2002). Two thirds of the cocaine flowing through the
corridor is smuggled into the United States where it comprises nearly 50% of all
cocaine imports, with the balance mainly from Mexico. The other third, account-
ing financially for a quarter of the market, is destined for Europe (UNODC, 2003).
It is no wonder that island officials decry the drug menace as “an overwhelming
phenomenon” (Sanders, 2003, p. 377).
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