Regional Leaders Urged to Lobby US Aid to Stem Gun Flows Into the Caribbean

CARICOM leaders are being urged by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, to continue lobbying the United States (US) for its assistance in stemming the flow of guns into the Caribbean.

“We must, as a collective group, agree that greater resources must be placed into national security, into our police forces, into our ability to gather intelligence and interdict and prosecute. But we must also consolidate our efforts to lobby, particularly the United States, to assist us. As we have assisted them in the war on drugs, they must assist us in the war on guns,” he said.

The Prime Minister was speaking during a round-table dialogue at the regional symposium on ‘Violence as a Public Health Issue – The Crime Challenge’, which was attended by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Monday (April 17).

Mr. Holness said it is the “greatest unfairness” that regional administrations have had to divert resources from other areas to fund and support a war on drugs.

He noted that while issues pertaining to drugs and guns are related, “there seems to be no real interest in stopping the other part of the trade, which are the guns”.

Mr. Holness maintained that guns fuel crime, as they are needed to protect drugs that are transshipped through the borders, adding that they are then used to carry out other forms of criminal activities.

“We have seen in Jamaica, where the weapon of choice is no longer the A-K47. It is the AR15, it is the Glock; these are guns that are manufactured in North America. So, collectively, as the leaders of CARICOM, we must raise our voice on this. We must appeal to our friends in the North to increase their efforts to prevent the flow of guns into the region,” Mr. Holness pointed out.

He further underscored the need for countries to take steps to protect their points of entry.

“We cannot negate our own responsibility in protecting our own ports and points of entry. We must also increase, in a consummate way, our own spending on securing our ports and airports and points of entry and increase our ability to detect the entry of illegal weapons. We must also change our laws, so that they align with the new and sophisticated crimes that are being committed and the flow of weapons into our countries,” Mr. Holness emphasised.

The two-day regional symposium, slated to end on April 18, is being hosted by Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. the Hon. Keith Rowley.
It is being attended by CARICOM Heads of Government.