The United States (US) and CARICOM countries pledged to enhance regional cooperation, to prevent the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons in the region. The initiative responds to the agreement between the CARICOM Foreign Ministers and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in March last year. The agreement was thought necessary as illicit gun trafficking poses a serious threat to the security of the Western Hemisphere as there is a thriving black market which provides weapons to terrorist groups, drug traffickers, gangs, and other criminal organizations. The US and CARICOM member states issuing a document outlining concrete and practical measures they will undertake to address the illicit trafficking of weapons throughout the region. Reprinted from radioja.com