St. Lucia PM Warns of External Criminal Influence in Caribbean

As migration dominates global debates, small island states like Montserrat and others in the Caribbean find themselves in a difficult position: balancing humanitarian concerns with limited resources while safeguarding borders against transnational crime.

Against this backdrop, a meeting of chiefs of immigration and comptrollers of customs in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) convened last week under the theme Strengthening Regional Leadership, Innovation and Collaboration in Border Security.

The two-day gathering brought together regional security leaders to address escalating threats, including migrant smuggling, human trafficking and the infiltration of organized crime networks.

In his keynote address, Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J Pierre underscored the vulnerability of Caribbean democracies to external criminal influences.

He warned that the region must accept that the emergence of gangs and gang-related activities heavily influenced by outside forces poses a threat to the islands’ system, democracy and peaceful way of life.

He emphasized the critical role of regional bodies like CARICOM’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) in countering these challenges, while calling for greater integrity among border officials facing intimidation and bribery.

Highlighting the equity gaps in customs enforcement, Pierre said, Caribbean states have to ensure that they develop a society where there is opportunity for all… where the regular person who brings in a barrel from the United States will believe that he will get the same treatment as the major business who bring in 50 or 60 containers.

The meeting’s agenda tackled migration policy, anti-smuggling efforts and strategies shared by member countries. For small Caribbean nations– often transit points rather than destinations for large-scale migration–the focus is on pragmatic cooperation.

The meeting closed with discussions on opportunities for regional collaboration and the impacts of US policies on customs and immigration operation and migration strategies at CARICOM borders.