SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – United States Vice-President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the US is investing more than US$100 million in the Caribbean to crack down on weapons trafficking, help alleviate Haiti’s humanitarian crisis and support climate change initiatives.

The announcement was made ahead of an official trip to The Bahamas for a meeting of Caribbean and US leaders hosted by Harris and Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis. Harris, who is the highest-ranking US official to visit The Bahamas since it became independent 50 years ago, landed shortly after noon for the one-day visit.

Dozens of greeters including schoolchildren and members of her sorority greeted Harris as the Royal Bahamas Police Force band dressed in black, red and white uniform played.

During a meeting with leaders, Harris said that strengthening the US-Caribbean relationship is a priority for her.

“Our partnership, we strongly believe, is essential to our mutual security and prosperity,” she said.

As part of the initiatives, the US Justice Department expects to appoint a coordinator to oversee cases involving illegal weapons smuggling in the Caribbean as island nations report a rise in violent crimes. In addition, the State Department vowed to help improve forensic work in the region, help strengthen local police departments and support a unit based in Trinidad and Tobago aimed at helping islands solve gun-related cases and provide training for the collection and analysis of related intelligence.

The US, with help from the United Kingdom, also will establish a programme in the Eastern Caribbean to mentor local judges and prosecutors in a bid to improve prosecutions of gun-related crimes as island nations struggle with a backlog of cases.

The State Department also expects to work with Haiti’s National Police, a severely underfunded and understaffed agency struggling to quell a surge in gang violence, to help investigate and prosecute crimes with US ties that involve gangs, weapons smuggling and human trafficking.

That initiative is considered key, given that gangs are estimated to control up to 80 per cent of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince as killings and kidnappings soar across the metropolitan area and beyond.

US senior Administration officials said the worsening security situation requires an international response, and that the US strongly supports the deployment of a multinational force to Haiti.

In October, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry requested the immediate deployment of a foreign armed force, but the United Nations Security Council, along with the US and Canada, have yet to respond.

US senior Administration officials said discussion are ongoing, and that any decision about military force would be done in consultation with the UN and Haiti’s Government.

Harris announced that the US Agency for International Development will invest nearly US$54 million in Haiti to help fight a sharp rise in starvation and provide access to potable water and healthcare. Almost half of Haiti’s more than 11 million people are facing acute food insecurity, and 19,000 are in catastrophic famine conditions.

Another US$10.5 million will go toward supporting Haiti’s agricultural sector as poverty deepens, with some 60 per cent of the population earning less than US$2 a day.

The announcement was cheered by Faith in Action International, a California-based organisation that helps grassroots groups worldwide.

“Haitian farmers are the backbone of fighting hunger in Haiti, and they desperately need critical inputs of seeds, irrigation, tools, and support from agronomists to adapt to drought,” said Francois Pierre-Louis, Faith in Action’s Haiti director.

USAID also expects to invest US$20 million to help Caribbean businesses that use technologies related to renewable energy and energy efficiency. Another nearly US$15 million will be used to boost emergency response and preparedness across the region.

Additional funds will help low-lying island nations whose economies largely depend on tourism prepare and adapt to climate change.