The original model covering the Central America and the Caribbean region (v2018.0.0) was initially developed in the framework of the CCARA project, a GEM collaboration project funded by USAID. Cuba and Puerto Rico were included a posteriori by the GEM hazard team.

During the CCARA project and after it, some local organizations and experts were involved and this model benefits from it: University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica - Costa Rican Institute of Electricity, Costa Rica - Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies, Nicaragua - Catholic University of El Salvador, El Salvador - Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, El Salvador - Panama University, Panama, Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Puerto Rico, National Center for Seismological Research, Cuba.

The model was built as a combination of a shallow model, where active faults and distributed seismicity sources were integrated, and a subduction model, divided into its main components (i.e. interface and in-slab).

The interface seismicity was modelled using complex faults, while for the in-slab region, the typology of source preferred was the non-parametric source. Since the original version, several significant updates have been made to the model by the GEM hazard team, leading to the latest release (v2019.1.0), which was used in the computation of the 2023 Global Earthquake Hazard and Risk Maps. Differences in the versions can be consulted in the model documentation.