TOP LEFT: His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, is pictured with Mr. Paul Simons, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD).
TOP RIGHT: His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry (right), Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, is pictured with Michael Shifter, President of the Inter-American Dialogue.
BOTTOM: His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, is pictured with Rear Admiral Peter Brown at a special discussion on U.S. drug policy in the Western Hemisphere held by the Inter-American Dialogue, in conjunction with the Organization of American States (OAS) at the Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill, on Wednesday, June 25, 2014.
|
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Inter-American Dialogue, in
conjunction with the Organization of American States (OAS), held a special
discussion on U.S. drug policy in the Western Hemisphere at the Rayburn House
Office Building, Capitol Hill, on Wednesday, June 25, 2014.
Panelists included Congressman Eliot Engel, Ranking Democrat
on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Congressman Matt Salmon, Chairman of
the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere; Mr. Michael
Shifter, President of the Inter-American Dialogue; and Mr. Paul Simons,
Executive Secretary of OAS Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission
(CICAD).
The Bahamas was represented by His Excellency Dr. Eugene
Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States; Mr. Chet Neymour, Deputy Chief
of Mission, Bahamas Embassy; and Ms. Krissy Hanna, Second Secretary, Bahamas
Embassy.
During a statement delivered by Ambassador Newry, he
informed attendees that given The Bahamas’ close proximity to the United
States, vulnerabilities to illicit narcotics trafficking remained a constant
fight. He further stated that the illegal flow of drugs through The Bahamas had
for decades threatened the country’s social fabric and stability.
Notwithstanding the ongoing global challenge of drug
trafficking, particularly within the Western hemisphere, Ambassador Newry
commented that The Bahamas Government
had continued to pursue and strengthen its longstanding partnership with the
Government of the United States of America through operational legal frameworks
such as Operations Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), the Comprehensive Maritime
Agreement, the Enduring Friendship initiative,
and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), all of which, he
noted, served as a catalyst for capacity building in the areas of national and
regional security.
Given The Bahamas’ concerns with respect to the U.S.
Government’s changing legal framework on drug policy, the ever evolving
dynamics of the drug trade, and the emerging trends of illicit narcotics
trafficking in the region, particularly given the increase in intensity in
interdiction and focus that the United States has now averted to protect its
southern (United States-Mexico) border, The Bahamas Government, from a mutually
beneficial approach, encourages greater U.S. bilateral support and assistance
in safeguarding both the Bahamian and U.S. maritime domains.
