March 3, 2023
The United States State Department’s recently released bullet point notes about gun trafficking to the Caribbean sparks some hope for putting an end to the gun trafficking in the Caribbean. Quite frankly, the Caribbean does not make guns and firearms of any kind on any of our islands. Everything is brought in from, primarily, the US.
The US State Department claims they have seized nearly 200,000 rounds of ammunition and nearly 1,000 firearms. This is a start for the Caribbean and can put a dent into the murders and death caused by at least one of those guns.
Everyone knows that these guns are tied to the criminal drug gangs, which puts the pressure back on Caribbean countries to do something themselves about the criminal element that has rooted itself deeply into its society, but this is a story for another day.
What’s important is now is that the US has started to take their illicit export of firearms more serious. They have even beefed up their attaché’s in their Caribbean based embassies with firearms specialists who would be the point person on illegal gun trafficking. That is what a responsible government on the move would do.
The culture of the US and most American’s appreciate for their second amendment rights, which I wish we in the Caribbean had to a certain degree. However their zealous love for their second amendment rights should not be a license to export it around the world for people that are vulnerable to the susceptibility of gun violence.