By KEVA LIGHTBOURNE, Guardian Senior Reporter, kdl@nasguard.com

While countries in the Caribbean have every reason to be concerned about the illicit drug trade, Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest said yesterday the situation has been compounded with the established drug routes now being used as arms trafficking and migrant smuggling routes.

Turnquest was addressing the 34th Member Organization of American States Drug Control Commission's two-day workshop, underway at the Wyndham Nassau Resort, Cable Beach.

"At times, drug trafficking, arms trafficking and alien smuggling become part of the same illicit enterprise. We have experienced a concomitant increase in crime and criminality in our countries, no doubt a result of these merged criminal operations, and particularly arms trafficking," he said.

Turnquest warned that the Caribbean cannot let its guard down in combating drug abuse and illicit trafficking.

"The illicit drug trade is dynamic, constantly changing its routes, seeking to develop new markets, and adapting its methods of operation to exploit gaps or weaknesses in the international drug control system. Positive developments in one area or region of the world, therefore, may be offset by negative developments in others," he explained.

The minister underscored that the Caribbean region is strategically situated between source and supply centers of narcotic drugs in Central and South America and profitable markets in North America and Europe. Turnquest said it is this simple fact of geography that has, for decades driven narcotics trafficking and psychotropic substances into and through the region.

According to Turnquest, throughout the 1980s and until today, The Bahamas worked cooperatively with CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and other like-minded states to keep the transit problem in view in international drug control efforts, including the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Recent reports indicate that the initiatives Caribbean countries are taking globally and regionally to combat drug trafficking and drug abuse are having a positive impact.

Turnquest pointed to the MEM process. He said this opens up action taken by OAS Member States to scrutiny by other OAS Member States in the Governmental Expert Group (GEG) and more widely, in the CICAD. It allows proposals to be made that are aimed at strengthening national systems and improving hemispheric cooperation. The MEM process forms the basis on which CICAD, in cooperation with Member States, can make targeted interventions to impact the drug problem, through specialized training and technical and financial assistance. Importantly, the effectiveness of the MEM process is greatly enhanced by the fact that there are no sanctions attached to this uniquely Americas process. Its objectives are in keeping with multilateral cooperation in drug abuse control, that is, coordination of drug control efforts, dialogue and cooperation.

"It has variously been recognized for its efficacy by the UNODC, INTERPOL, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Pan American Health Organization. Competent National Coordinating Entities (NCEs) are critical to the accomplishments of the MEM process."