Jamaica in 2004

Jamaica in 2004

Area: 10,991 sq km (4,244 sq mi)
Population (2004 est.): 2,649,000
Capital: Kingston
Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke
Head of government: Prime Minister Percival J. Patterson

In March 2004 the U.S. Department of State (DOS), in its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, gave Jamaica credit for its efforts against drug smuggling and drug-related crime but claimed that corruption continued to undermine law enforcement. That same month Amnesty International accused Jamaican authorities of lacking the political will to end extrajudicial killings by the police. This criticism came in the wake of the collapse of a trial of a police officer charged with the murder of a 13-year-old girl. Amnesty observed that Jamaica had the dubious distinction of having one of the world’s highest rates of killings by police.

Following an $80 million security upgrade, in April Jamaica’s ports—the DOS focus of the drug-running business—became the first in the Caribbean to be certified under the International Maritime Organization’s International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, which was designed to strengthen defenses against terrorism in port or at sea.

Finance Minister Omar Davies announced in April that 5,000 new hotel rooms would be built over the next five years to support Jamaica’s burgeoning tourist industry. In September Hurricane Ivan killed at least 18 people and caused damages totaling $90 million; the estimated losses included 60% of the coffee crop, 30% of the citrus crop, 15% of the sugar-cane crop, and 20% of poultry production. In addition, 75% of the homes in one district were damaged.

by: David Renwick