Above: a signing ceremony in Nassau this week (BIS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Collaborative efforts between the Bahamas and the United States are “critical” to tackling the “constant assault” of transnational crime,” according to Bahamas Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell.

The Minister was speaking this week following the signing of a modification to the letter of agreement on narcotics control and law enforcement first signed between the two countries in 2010.

“Today, money laundering and trafficking in illicit drugs, illegal small and light firearms and human continue to test and challenge the national law enforcement agencies of countries globally in The Bahamas and the United States, as criminals are becoming more ingenious in their methods of trans-national criminal activity, which have no boundary and continue to attack and destroy the very essence of our society,” Mitchell said.

The new agreement “signified the Government of United States commitment in the areas of law enforcement, support, counter-narcotics control, drug demand reduction and anti-corruption reform,” according to the Foreign Minister.

It also provides a contribution of $1.85 million that will go toward assisting the Bahamas’ efforts to fight against “the surge of organized crime,” Mitchell said.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Luis Arreaga signed the agreement on behalf of the United States.