The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau, of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (AFT), will soon be setting up offices in Jamaica to help fight crime and violence.
The offices of both agencies will be located at the US Embassy in Kingston.
This was revealed by U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica, Luis G. Moreno during the U.S. Bilateral Relations Forum, recently held at the regional headquarters of the University of the West Indies Mona Campus, Jamaica.
The Forum focused on a report from the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) entitled “Dialogues between Democracies: The Future of US-Jamaica Bilateral Relations”.
The ambassador explained that officers from the agencies will help train local personnel.
He noted that over the past year, 16 courses have been conducted in areas such as forensics, investigation terror networks, investigating cybersecurity crimes and spotting false documents.
Ambassador Moreno said the AFT is crucial, as it can trace serial numbers and conduct forensic tests on guns coming through the United States and Central America in the drugs for gun trade.
He pointed out that the US has invested and will continue to invest in millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours in improving the capabilities of Jamaica’s security forces and the judiciary.
CaPRI said focus must be placed on areas such as enhancing security, increasing trade and investment, enabling health and prosperity; endorsing full and equal citizenship and strengthening the partnership.
