France launches Caribbean anti‑narcotics plan to curb drug trafficking

French ministers Jean‑Noël Barrot and Jean‑Didier Berger presented a new anti‑narcotics strategy for the Caribbean and French Guiana. The plan builds on a regional security summit in Martinique and adds about 40 % more police, customs and military personnel to French diplomatic posts in the area.

Eighteen cooperation agreements with Caribbean and Latin American states have already been signed, with another 23 under discussion. The measures include the deployment of canine units, medium‑endurance surveillance drones, expanded video monitoring at ports and airports, and a proposed legal amendment allowing police to inspect vehicles and baggage within a 40‑km radius without a judicial requisition. A regional academy for narcotics‑related training will be inaugurated in the Dominican Republic, and the EU is finalising a sanctions regime targeting traffickers.

The initiative aims to disrupt drug, arms and human‑trafficking networks that use Caribbean routes to supply France.