Relationship dossier
Jamaica
United States
Relationship assessment
Substantial cooperation on trade and security, alongside periodic law-enforcement tensions
Jamaica toward United States
+35Jamaica has cooperated with the United States on law enforcement, including ultimately extraditing Christopher Coke in 2010 after a prolonged and contentious dispute over the U.S. request. Jamaica also participates in regional security cooperation with the United States.
United States toward Jamaica
+35The United States has supported regional security cooperation involving Jamaica and maintained trade and law-enforcement engagement with the Jamaican government. Its pursuit of Christopher Coke's extradition contributed to a serious bilateral dispute in 2010.
Overall relationship
+40The relationship has durable cooperation in trade, regional security, and law enforcement, offset by periodic disputes rather than sustained confrontation. The 2010 extradition controversy illustrates that cooperation can be accompanied by significant political and legal tension.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Jamaica and the United States maintain a substantial relationship involving trade, security cooperation, and law enforcement. The countries have cooperated on extradition and regional security, while the 2010 dispute over the extradition of Christopher Coke caused serious strain. The relationship is broadly cooperative, with occasional disagreements over law enforcement and other bilateral matters.
Areas of tension
- The 2010 dispute over Jamaica's handling of the U.S. extradition request for Christopher Coke
Key developments
Jamaica ultimately extradited Christopher Coke to the United States following a prolonged dispute over the U.S. request.
Jamaica participated in the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, a U.S.-backed regional security cooperation framework.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of current bilateral security cooperation are unclear.
- The present effects of the 2010 extradition dispute on law-enforcement cooperation are uncertain.