The nations are welcoming new funding and programs from outside sources to stop drug movement within the new budget year. The ideal geographic locations are becoming an increasingly significant drug transit area

United States authorities that have continued to assist several Caribbean governments with drug control will receive help from the United Nations (UN) and European aid.

Twenty-seven world leaders have been busy gathering this month to prepare to sign a UN pledge in June to continue the war on drugs.

Professor Shawn Shieh, an assistant professor of political science at Marist College, says the he is aware that Caribbean nations can not tackle the drug problem alone.

"It is about time that the entire international community takes a stand and devises new strategies that could finally make a difference," he said.

In addition to the UN cooperation, President Clinton's drug policy chief, Barry McCaffrey, ordered $141 million in extra defense spending for anti-drug programs for the next budget year.

The drug control money will help strengthen U.S. sponsored operations across the globe, with some emphasis placed on the Caribbean.

There will be a $30 million increase in overall National Guard counter drug operations, and $12 million specifically targeted at Caribbean drug trafficking-related crime.

According to The Financial Times, an on line news source, the drug war has forced problems into new territories among the island nations.

The United Nations Drug Control Program recognizes that since the drug war has stepped up, drug trafficking and money laundering has spilled into neighboring nations causing previously unknown social and economic havoc.

Island nations, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Barbados have been deeply affected by drug transit and related problems.

Shieh, who is up to date on the current economic conditions in various countries, said he feels that drug related crimes were once the least of their problems.

"The sad reality is that drug trafficking is negatively affecting the Caribbean region in terms of health, corruption, security, economic development, and financial systems. It threatens the political and social fabric of the region," he said.

More than 61 percent of the South American cocaine sold in the U.S. and Europe now moves through the small island nations.

Drug trafficking has infiltrated the economy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines creating a dependency on marijuana and cocaine production and trafficking.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines are vulnerable to criminal influence due to the rugged terrain.

Island nations such as Trinidad and Tobago have close proximity to the South American mainland, about seven miles off the Venezuelan coast.

These islands have become the largest producers of marijuana and cocaine in the Eastern Caribbean. The traffickers are taking advantage of the country's dense jungles, low population, and weak infrastructure to avoid more heavily policed areas such as Colombia.

Detective David Goodrow, of the Hartford, Connecticut Police Department's Narcotic Control Squad, says he sees the Caribbean as ideal for drug trafficking.

"In truth, we are speaking of a region that has an enormous number of states and territories that are unprotected," he said.

The island states, whose national budgets and law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed by the drug cartel's sophistication and wealth, look forward to gaining new ideas on ways to better cope in the drug war.

In the recent CARICOM summit held in Trinidad and Tobago(TT), Secretary of State Madeleine Albright focused on drug-control efforts.

TT got high marks for its counter-narcotic measures, which include law enforcement efforts, policy initiatives, and attempts to curb domestic demand.

According to Caribbean Week, an on line source, Albright applauded United States assistance to the TT government. Successful measures included interdicting cocaine shipments, bringing traffickers to trial, seizing proceeds of traffic, and attacking money laundering.

The United State has donated and plans to hand over more drug fighting equipment and facilities.

Goodrow, director of drug control in Connecticut's capital region, recognizes the up swing in narcotic related activity. He notes that no matter what region you’re in you have to attack (drugs) with force and that outside groups will help to save themselves.

"International assistance seems to be key here. Weaker nations will find hope in outside aid. Nobody can take care of this wide spread problem alone," he said.

European Union, the United States, and the United Nations have all made a strong commitment to the anti-drug campaign.

Detective David Goodrow, who has been heading up the Narcotics Division for 18 years, mentions that illicit drug trafficking affects all geographic locations involved.

"They (outside aid) all know that the drug industry, at the international level, represents the greatest threat to the national security of our nations," he said.

Among the projects proposed is a $5 million European-funded program to teach Caribbean agencies how to monitor the complex financial transactions that have made the region the center of the world's money-laundering business.

Professor Scott Erickson, an associate professor in the Business Department at Marist College, said the key is to slow down business from coast to coast.

"Drug trafficking is just like any other business; it is based on supply and demand. Once the demand is diminished we see a difference," he said. "Blocking and taking away the profits from drug sales will disrupt operations. Money, after all, is the lifeblood and the sole end of illicit trafficking."

Chances of stopping drug trafficking are improved with such international support as the United States new Operation Frontier Shield (OFS). OFS, which is a long-term effort to deny smugglers their traditional routes, focuses on the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The head of the United Nations Drug Control Program, Pino Arlaachi, told Caribbean Week in an interview that he thought the war on drugs was no longer going to be a losing battle.