US$832m SPENT TO FIGHT GUN TRADE – Ambassador defends US Government's effort in region

WHILE Caribbean leaders are calling on the US to do more to stem the influx of illegal guns into the region, US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Candace Bond said the US has done a lot and encouraged the region to work together in curbing the problem.

During her closing remarks at the end of a three-day seminar on guns in the region hosted by the Caribbean Basin Security Institute (CBSI) along with the Caribbean Implementation Agency For Crime And Security (Impacs), Bond explained some of the efforts made by the US.

“Through CBSI, the US invested over US $832 million in the Caribbean to reduce illicit firearms trafficking, increase public safety and security, and promote social justice.

"As part of this effort, we continue to co-ordinate law-enforcement programmes with each of your countries and we look forward to working with you to maximise US investments in this area.

"The United States has undertaken significant actions to address illicit firearms trafficking in the region.”

The comment comes as this country, along with the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines joined Mexico in taking legal action against US gun manufacturers for the influx of illegal guns into their respective countries from the US.

Mexico filed a US$10 billion lawsuit against seven US gun manufacturers and one wholesaler and distributor.

At the start of last week’s two day symposium on violence in the Caribbean, Bahamas prime minister and Caricom chairman Philip Davis called on the US to do more to stop the flow of illegal guns into the region.

He said: “We have asked the US government and US-based gun manufacturers to co-operate with Caricom member states when it comes to identifying weapons purchased in the US, as a part of a wider effort to hold weapons dealers and traffickers accountable for the many lives lost to gun violence each year.

"We must call on our neighbours to the north to better police the trafficking of guns from the US to the Caribbean.”

On Thursday, Bond said, through international co-operation, the region could effectively combat illicit firearms trafficking.

She added that help from the US would come in the form of technical-assistance programmes that would help develop the capacity to effectively address the issue.

This commitment by the US, Bond said, can be seen not only in the funds donated but the legislation in place in the US addressing the exporting of guns.

She said the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed by US President Joe Biden in June last year, was a testament to that co-operation.

Provisions under the Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act gave further penalties for those who smuggled guns and ammunition out of the US with an intent to engage in or promote transnational organised crime.

“(Through) the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the US Congress allocated US$3.4 billion to modernise ports of entry on US northern and southern bordersm, supporting increased border-security efforts and enhancing information sharing on illicit firearms trafficking.”

She said, apart from that, the US Department of Justice created task forces across the country to disrupt gun-trafficking networks and is prioritising prosecutions for those responsible for the greatest violence.

Additionally, Bond said, the Department of State provided over US$8 million to the Caribbean for capacity-building programmes over the past five years.

The programmes include training on firearms-trafficking investigations, ballistic forensic training, stockpile management and destruction, marking and tracing of firearms.

At the opening of the three-day conference, officials of the US Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau (ATF) said at least 2,000 illegal guns in the Caribbean were traced back to the US.

The data was for January 2020-December 2021.

In that time 2,491 pistols, 440 revolvers, 275 rifles,162 shotguns and 88 guns listed as “other” were seized.

Bond said ATF assisted law-enforcement investigations by tracing recovered firearms and providing leads to arrest gun smugglers in their respective countries. The US Customs and Border Protection also shares information on criminal activity, including firearms smuggling, with partner countries in the Americas, she said.

As recently as last November, the US partnered with the region to create the Caribbean Crime Gun Intelligence Unit (CCGIU). Together with Caricom Impacs, CCGIU has assisted in improving intelligence and information sharing among Caribbean and US law enforcement agencies.

“This new mechanism, which I urge all Caricom states to support and use, will dramatically impact our success in combating illicit firearms trafficking in the Caribbean.”

She said, as the criminals became more interconnected, so should the region, as it is now more essential than ever to develop integrated and interoperable response efforts to stay ahead of the criminals.

Bond said those response efforts must become better co-ordinated through enhanced national, regional, and inter-agency co-operation. She said "a chain was a string as its weakest link" and the region must examine how it could work better together with the US.

“The United States is the Caribbean’s best and most trusted security partner, and we will continue to work with nations of the region to tackle firearms trafficking and build law-enforcement capacity to address violence and crime.

"We do this because we are neighbours, friends, and family and we have a responsibility to keep each other safe.”

At the end of March, Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher said, for the year, police had seized 185 guns and 6,334 rounds of ammunition. Between January 1 and October 5, 2022, police seized 509 firearms, of which 76 were high-powered rifles.