Barbados and Panama agreed to strengthen cooperation in security and air travel connectivity in order to combat criminal organizations.
A new agreement between Barbados and Panama facilitates information sharing in an effort to prevent criminals from entering either country. The initiative was set in place when Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez met with Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart in Panama on April 14.
“The cooperation agreement between the two countries is a launching point to put a new security strategy into place in the Caribbean against international organized crime groups, money laundering, and trafficking in humans and weapons,” said Armando Rodríguez Luna, a security analyst at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
During their meeting, Prime Minister Stuart also invited President Varela to the upcoming Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Summit in July, where he will have the chance to address the heads of Caribbean states on these matters. The joint effort is part of a trend of increased regional cooperation in the Caribbean region in the battle against transnational criminal organizations.
Two countries negotiating air services pact
Authorities in Barbados and Panama are seeking to combat organized crime through “effective, agile, and timely mechanisms,” Rodríguez Luna said.
One such mechanism involves securing borders at regional airports. That’s why civil aeronautics authorities from both countries are negotiating an air services agreement which would spell out specific protocols to prevent criminal suspects from entering or transiting through each country.
It’s an important step, because Barbados and Panama are among the 35 top countries in the world in terms of air transportation infrastructure, according to the World Economic Forum.
Panama’s strategic location
Panama’s geographic position also makes its modern ports, airports and highways a key transshipment point in the Americas — one that drug trafficking organizations try to exploit.
But Barbados and Panama are fighting back, and they’re working together. Cooperation between the two countries goes back more than a century; for example, in the early 1900s, nearly 20,000 Barbadians went to Panama to help built the Panama Canal.
A new agreement between Barbados and Panama facilitates information sharing in an effort to prevent criminals from entering either country. The initiative was set in place when Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez met with Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart in Panama on April 14.
“The cooperation agreement between the two countries is a launching point to put a new security strategy into place in the Caribbean against international organized crime groups, money laundering, and trafficking in humans and weapons,” said Armando Rodríguez Luna, a security analyst at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
During their meeting, Prime Minister Stuart also invited President Varela to the upcoming Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Summit in July, where he will have the chance to address the heads of Caribbean states on these matters. The joint effort is part of a trend of increased regional cooperation in the Caribbean region in the battle against transnational criminal organizations.
Two countries negotiating air services pact
Authorities in Barbados and Panama are seeking to combat organized crime through “effective, agile, and timely mechanisms,” Rodríguez Luna said.
One such mechanism involves securing borders at regional airports. That’s why civil aeronautics authorities from both countries are negotiating an air services agreement which would spell out specific protocols to prevent criminal suspects from entering or transiting through each country.
It’s an important step, because Barbados and Panama are among the 35 top countries in the world in terms of air transportation infrastructure, according to the World Economic Forum.
Panama’s strategic location
Panama’s geographic position also makes its modern ports, airports and highways a key transshipment point in the Americas — one that drug trafficking organizations try to exploit.
But Barbados and Panama are fighting back, and they’re working together. Cooperation between the two countries goes back more than a century; for example, in the early 1900s, nearly 20,000 Barbadians went to Panama to help built the Panama Canal.