Jamaica welcomes US move to clamp down on gun trafficking to Caribbean

Jamaica’s deputy prime minister has welcomed a campaign by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, to push through new measures and legislation to tackle gun trafficking from the US to the Caribbean.

Horace Chang, who is also Jamaica’s minister of security, praised a coalition of 14 US attorneys general, led by James, that is backing the passing of the Caribbean Arms Trafficking Causes Harm Act. Introduced in both houses of the US Congress earlier this year, the act aims to help curb illicit arms trafficking from the United States to the Caribbean.

In a letter to Congress, the attorneys general outlined actions that need to be taken, including improving resources for US port inspectors and increasing funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The letter highlights Jamaica’s alarming homicide rate of 53.3 per 100,000, pointing out that it is “currently the highest rate of countries with reliable statistics”. It also flags that, according to Jamaican government estimates, at least 200 guns are trafficked into the country from the US every month, adding that these guns are fueling violent crime and enabling drug smuggling networks that traffic drugs to the US.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that overdoses in American communities are made possible in part by the trafficking of firearms from the United States to the Caribbean,” the letter argues.

Chang said that Jamaica already had an “extremely good relationship” with US law enforcement agencies, particularly the ATF, but admitted that the flow of guns was still a big problem.

He hoped the AGs’ campaign would support Jamaica’s efforts to combat gun crime, which he said include improving border control and creating new legislation.

He said: “It’s good to hear the American attorneys general asking for [legislative changes] because the source of the firearms that are killing Jamaican citizens in very large numbers is largely from the United States, so we are happy to hear them taking strong actions to prevent the flow of guns to Jamaica.

“We brought in the most aggressive firearms act in the region, and it will impact the issue in short order and penalise all aspects of the illegal firearm trade … We have taken a lot of steps to protect our borders and to identify and find the firearms and to implement strong punishment to the individuals involved.”

Dr Diana Thorburn, from the thinktank Caribbean Policy Research Institute, said that the US taking some of the responsibility for this issue was a step in the right direction, but added that, while tackling gun trafficking was critical, it was important to recognise that it did not get to the root of the problem.

She said: “80% of Jamaica’s murder rate is directly or indirectly related to gangs, and if you take that 80% out, Jamaica’s murder rate is below the world average.

“The problem of gun trafficking exists because of the demand for guns in the Caribbean, just as drug trafficking to the US exists because of the high demand for drugs in the US. In Jamaica, the demand for guns exists because of the gangs, and they are the ones responsible for the high murder rate. If they weren’t getting guns from the US, they’d get them from somewhere else because, though most of the guns recovered in Jamaica are from the US, not all are. There are other sources.”