The United States signed a
Declaration of Principles (DOPs) with the Government of Jamaica to
help thwart smuggling of nuclear and other radioactive material. The DOP
was co-signed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the
Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The
document covers implementation of CBP's
Container Security Initiative and
NNSA's Megaports Initiative, as both programs continue working together to
stop nuclear material from being smuggled to U.S. ports. Two other joint
DOE-CBP declarations of principles have been signed with the Sultanate of
Oman and the government of Honduras.
The DOPs are aimed at detecting and deterring illicit trafficking of
nuclear and other radioactive materials by smugglers and terrorists.
Similar partnerships exist with the Netherlands, Greece and other nations.
Representatives from Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East and the
Caribbean are in active discussions with the United States to install
radiation detection systems at key port facilities worldwide to further
international nonproliferation efforts and provide useful evidence to
support prosecution efforts.
Under the
Container Security Initiative (
CSI), CBP stations
multidisciplinary teams of U.S. officers from CBP and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) to work with their host government counterparts
to establish security criteria to identify high-risk containers. Their
mission is to target and pre-screen containers destined for the United
States.