US, Caricom team up to tackle illegal guns in region

Recognising that illegally imported guns remain the weapon of choice for criminals in the Caribbean, the US government and Caricom have joined forces to clamp down on weapons entering the region.

A media release from the US embassy reported that Caricom's Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) has partnered with law-enforcement agencies in the US to form the Crime Gun Intelligence Unit (CGIU).

The unit is expected to support law-enforcement agencies in Caricom member states in gun seizures while also identifying and charging conspirators.

The release reported that the unit will foster more collaboration among regional and international agencies, including the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Bureau, Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection in the US.

Contacted for comment, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds described the partnership as a historic one, as it formalised relations between Caricom member states for intelligence-sharing on crime and security issues.

Hinds said previous intelligence-sharing arrangements were more loose in nature, he said, but this partnership would bring more structure to law-enforcement efforts.

"The government of TT and the Ministry of National Security actually welcomed it, because in my view it formalised relations between Caricom states in respect of intelligence-sharing among each other, and of course with our international partners.

"Historically we have shared information with our international partners, including the US, and benefited largely from their best practice and resources. So we are quite happy at it and we are very keen and enthusiastic partners in this Caricom arrangement."

He said many of the crimes the country dealt with were "transborder, transnational, and so it is obvious that collaboration among Caricom states, particularly with the support of our long-standing friend the USA, is going to be of great value."

Police said 125 guns were seized between January 1 and February 27 this year, compared to 99 for the same period last year. Pistols (69) were the most common type of gun seized for the year thus far, then revolvers (22) and rifles (20).

A senior police officer said local authorities have always had partnerships with international law-enforcement agencies, but this arrangement could enhance the effectiveness of investigations in finding those responsible for shipping weapons to the region.

He said this unit would support the work of local police, who use an e-trace system to track the origin of guns from the US.

"How the system works is, the US doesn't really check what leaves their country. If someone wants to put firearms in a barrel and ship them abroad they can do so, because it is legal to do so abroad. The checks are done down here, and it's down here we intercept

"But this new unit should assist us greatly, because we now have additional resources, I don't know what technological resources the US will bring, but whatever they offer is more than welcome.

"Here on the back end we are receiving these weapons, and if we can get some assistance in clamping down on the point of origin and finding who the suppliers are...it's a step in the right direction, and it makes sense to extend it to the wider Caricom region."

On January 9, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves attributed the high murder rate in Latin America and the Caribbean to the proliferation of guns from the US.

Gonsalves complained again in February over illegal weapons entering the Caribbean, noting that a gun seized in Kingstown in 2022 had been linked to a crime in Indiana.