Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4368 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4368

 To authorize the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, to enhance the
  United States-Caribbean security partnership, to prioritize natural
              disaster resilience, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2025

 Mr. Espaillat (for himself and Ms. Salazar) introduced the following
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To authorize the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, to enhance the
  United States-Caribbean security partnership, to prioritize natural
              disaster resilience, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Caribbean Basin Security Initiative
Authorization Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
                Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
                Committee on Appropriations of the House of
                Representatives.
            (2) Beneficiary countries.--The term ``beneficiary
        countries'' means--
                    (A) Antigua and Barbuda;
                    (B) the Bahamas;
                    (C) Barbados;
                    (D) Dominica;
                    (E) the Dominican Republic;
                    (F) Grenada;
                    (G) Guyana;
                    (H) Jamaica;
                    (I) Saint Lucia;
                    (J) Saint Kitts and Nevis;
                    (K) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;
                    (L) Suriname; and
                    (M) Trinidad and Tobago.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE CARIBBEAN BASIN SECURITY INITIATIVE.

    (a) Authorization for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.--The
Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development may carry out an initiative, to be known
as the ``Caribbean Basin Security Initiative'', in beneficiary
countries to achieve the purposes described in subsection (b).
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes described in this subsection are the
following:
            (1) To promote citizen safety, security, and the rule of
        law in the Caribbean through increased strategic engagement
        with--
                    (A) the governments of beneficiary countries; and
                    (B) elements of local civil society, including the
                private sector, in such countries.
            (2) To counter transnational criminal organizations and
        local gangs in beneficiary countries, including through--
                    (A) maritime and aerial security cooperation,
                including--
                            (i) assistance to strengthen capabilities
                        of maritime and aerial interdiction operations
                        in the Caribbean; and
                            (ii) the provision of support systems and
                        equipment, training, and maintenance;
                    (B) cooperation on border and port security,
                including support to strengthen capacity for screening
                and intercepting narcotics, weapons, bulk cash, and
                other contraband at airports and seaports; and
                    (C) capacity building and the provision of
                equipment and support for operations targeting--
                            (i) the finances and illegal activities of
                        such organizations and gangs; and
                            (ii) the recruitment by such organizations
                        and gangs of at-risk youth.
            (3) To advance law enforcement and justice sector capacity
        building and rule of law initiatives in beneficiary countries,
        including by--
                    (A) strengthening special prosecutorial offices and
                providing technical assistance--
                            (i) to combat--
                                    (I) corruption;
                                    (II) money laundering;
                                    (III) human, firearms, and wildlife
                                trafficking;
                                    (IV) human smuggling;
                                    (V) financial crimes; and
                                    (VI) extortion; and
                            (ii) to conduct asset forfeitures and
                        criminal analysis;
                    (B) supporting training for civilian police and
                appropriate security services in criminal
                investigations, best practices for citizen security,
                and the protection of human rights;
                    (C) supporting capacity building for law
                enforcement and military units, including
                professionalization, anti-corruption and human rights
                training, vetting, and community-based policing;
                    (D) supporting justice sector reform and
                strengthening of the rule of law, including--
                            (i) capacity building for prosecutors,
                        judges, and other justice officials; and
                            (ii) support to increase the efficacy of
                        criminal courts; and
                    (E) strengthening cybersecurity and cybercrime
                cooperation, including capacity building and support
                for cybersecurity systems.
            (4) To promote crime prevention efforts in beneficiary
        countries, particularly among at-risk youth and other
        vulnerable populations, including through--
                    (A) improving community and law enforcement
                cooperation to improve the effectiveness and
                professionalism of police and increase mutual trust;
                    (B) increasing economic opportunities for at-risk
                youth and vulnerable populations, including through
                workforce development training and remedial education
                programs for at-risk youth;
                    (C) improving juvenile justice sectors through
                regulatory reforms, separating youth from traditional
                prison systems, and improving support and services in
                juvenile detention centers; and
                    (D) the provision of assistance to populations
                vulnerable to being victims of extortion and crime by
                criminal networks.
            (5) To strengthen the ability of the security sector in
        beneficiary countries to respond to and become more resilient
        in the face of natural disasters, including by--
                    (A) carrying out training exercises to ensure
                critical infrastructure and ports are able to come back
                online rapidly following natural disasters; and
                    (B) providing preparedness training to police and
                first responders.
            (6) To prioritize efforts to combat corruption and include
        anti-corruption components in programs in beneficiary
        countries, including by--
                    (A) building the capacity of national justice
                systems and attorneys general to prosecute and try acts
                of corruption;
                    (B) increasing the capacity of national law
                enforcement services to carry out anti-corruption
                investigations; and
                    (C) encouraging cooperative agreements among the
                Department of State, other relevant Federal departments
                and agencies, and the attorneys general of relevant
                countries.
            (7) To promote the rule of law in beneficiary countries and
        counter malign influence from authoritarian regimes, including
        China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, by--
                    (A) monitoring security assistance from such
                authoritarian regimes and taking steps necessary to
                ensure that such assistance does not undermine or
                jeopardize United States security assistance;
                    (B) evaluating and, as appropriate, restricting the
                involvement of the United States in investment and
                infrastructure projects financed by authoritarian
                regimes that might obstruct or otherwise impact United
                States security assistance to beneficiary countries;
                    (C) monitoring and restricting equipment and
                support from high-risk vendors of telecommunications
                infrastructure in beneficiary countries;
                    (D) countering disinformation by promoting
                transparency and accountability from beneficiary
                countries; and
                    (E) eliminating corruption linked to investment and
                infrastructure facilitated by authoritarian regimes
                through support for investment screening, competitive
                tendering and bidding processes, the implementation of
                investment law, and contractual transparency.
            (8) To support the effective branding and messaging of
        United States security assistance and cooperation in
        beneficiary countries, including by developing and implementing
        a public diplomacy strategy for informing citizens of
        beneficiary countries about the benefits to their respective
        countries of United States security assistance and cooperation
        programs.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Department of State and the United States Agency
for International Development $88,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025
through 2029 to carry out the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative to
achieve the purposes described in subsection (b).

SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees
an implementation plan that includes a timeline and stated objectives
for actions to be taken in beneficiary countries with respect to the
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.
    (b) Elements.--The implementation plan required by subsection (a)
shall include the following elements:
            (1) A multi-year strategy with a timeline, overview of
        objectives, and anticipated outcomes for the region and for
        each beneficiary country, with respect to each purpose
        described in section 3.
            (2) Specific, measurable benchmarks to track the progress
        of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative toward accomplishing
        the outcomes included under paragraph (1).
            (3) A plan for the delineation of the roles to be carried
        out by the Department of State, the United States Agency for
        International Development, the Department of Justice, the
        Department of Defense, and any other Federal department or
        agency in carrying out the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative,
        to prevent overlap and unintended competition between
        activities and resources.
            (4) A plan to coordinate and track all activities carried
        out under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative among all
        relevant Federal departments and agencies, in accordance with
        the publication requirements described in section 4 of the
        Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016 (22
        U.S.C. 2394c).
            (5) A description of the process for co-locating projects
        of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative funded by the United
        States Agency for International Development and the Bureau of
        International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the
        Department of State to ensure that crime prevention funding and
        enforcement funding are used in the same localities as
        necessary.
    (c) Annual Progress Update.--Not later than 1 year after the date
on which the implementation plan required by subsection (a) is
submitted, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a written description of results achieved
through the Caribbean Basin Security Imitative, including with respect
to--
            (1) the implementation of the strategy and plans described
        in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of subsection (b);
            (2) compliance with, and progress related to, meeting the
        benchmarks described in paragraph (2) of subsection (b); and
            (3) funding statistics for the Caribbean Basin Security
        Initiative for the preceding year, disaggregated by country.

SEC. 5. PROGRAMS AND STRATEGY TO INCREASE NATURAL DISASTER RESPONSE AND
              RESILIENCE.

    (a) Programs.--During the 5-year period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with
the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Inter-
American Foundation, shall promote natural disaster response and
resilience in beneficiary countries by carrying out programs for the
following purposes:
            (1) Encouraging coordination between beneficiary countries
        and relevant Federal departments and agencies to provide
        expertise and information sharing.
            (2) Supporting the sharing of best practices on natural
        disaster resilience, including on constructing resilient
        infrastructure and rebuilding after natural disasters.
            (3) Improving rapid-response mechanisms and cross-
        government organizational preparedness for natural disasters.
    (b) Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
and in consultation with the President and Chief Executive Officer of
the Inter-American Foundation and nongovernmental organizations in
beneficiary countries and in the United States, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a strategy that incorporates
specific, measurable benchmarks--
            (1) to achieve the purposes described in subsection (a);
        and
            (2) to inform citizens of beneficiary countries about the
        extent and benefits of United States assistance to such
        countries.
    (c) Annual Progress Update.--Not later than 1 year after the date
on which the strategy required by subsection (b) is submitted, and
annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
written description of the progress made as of the date of such
submission in meeting the benchmarks included in the strategy.
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