During his address to the 50th Annual Meeting of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared several important points that have an impact on the security of the entire American continent.

"[...] The first, which I have already shared with many of you individually and which I will reiterate today, is that we believe the most urgent security threat in the region—including ours, but also all of yours—is that posed by transnational criminal organizations. Many of these organizations possess financial resources and power that rival, or even surpass, those of many of the States they threaten. We recognize that this is a complex challenge that is part of a broader perspective. First, these organizations are obviously fueled by drug trafficking and other illicit activities. Often, these drugs and the profits they generate are destined for the United States, but the money they bring in ultimately ends up on the streets of our country. This poses a danger to transit countries and, ultimately, a danger to U.S. national security.

We have also noted with concern the level of armament of these groups. We know that many of them purchase weapons in the United States, and we are determined to put an end to this trafficking by working closely with our law enforcement agencies. I hope you have seen, both in the case of Haiti and in other situations, that we have not hesitated to call these groups what they are—terrorist organizations—nor to prosecute the individuals who support them. We have also taken action against them, and this is part of our joint action.

We have a long history of collaborating to address these challenges, but I believe our cooperation will need to be even closer and our commitment even stronger, as these groups gain power [...]"

IH/ iciHaïti