Antigua and Barbuda's Foreign Affairs Minister E.P. Chet Greene has called for sweeping changes to regional border security, warning Caribbean nations that fragmented systems and outdated approaches are no longer adequate to combat modern transnational threats.
According to Antigua.news, Greene made the remarks at the 29th Meeting of the CARICOM Standing Committee of Chiefs of Immigration and Comptrollers of Customs, held at the Royalton Antigua. There, he unveiled what he described as an "implementable roadmap" designed to transform how Caribbean states secure their borders while facilitating safer regional movement.
Addressing immigration and customs leaders from across the region, Greene stressed that the Caribbean could no longer afford to operate with disconnected border systems as criminal networks grow increasingly sophisticated.
"This is not a lowly politician's dream; it is an implementable roadmap," Greene declared, urging regional leaders to champion the proposals within their respective governments.
At the center of his proposal is a six-point strategy aimed at tightening intelligence sharing, improving passenger screening, modernizing customs operations and introducing a biometric regional travel system.
Among the most ambitious elements is the creation of a "CariPass" — a single digital travel credential linked to biometric data that would allow seamless movement among participating Caribbean states, following strict background checks against regional and international watchlists.
Greene also proposed establishing Joint Border Intelligence Units at major ports across the region, where immigration, customs and police officers from different Caribbean territories would work side by side using shared intelligence systems to track criminal activity and security threats in real time.
The minister further warned that CARICOM states remain vulnerable due to inconsistent passenger screening systems and weak intelligence coordination. He pointed to the need for Passenger Information Units capable of analyzing Advanced Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data before travelers arrive in the region — similar to systems already deployed in countries such as the United Kingdom to detect terrorism, trafficking, firearms smuggling and organized crime.
Greene additionally called for a permanent Regional Border Governance Council that would convene quarterly to review threat assessments, monitor compliance and coordinate policy responses across member states.
He also urged countries that have yet to act to urgently enact CARICOM's Model API/PNR legislation, warning that modern border protection cannot function effectively without the legal authority to collect and securely share passenger intelligence data.
