Officials: Over 2,000 guns seized in Caribbean came from US

THERE are at least 2,000 illegal guns in the Caribbean that have been traced back to the US, regional stakeholders were told on Tuesday.

Officials of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Bureau shared the information at the opening of a three-day seminar on guns in the region.

The seminar is being hosted by the Caribbean Basin Security Institute (CBSI) along with the Caribbean Implementation Agency For Crime And Security (Impacs).

Tuesday’s meeting dealt with preventing illicit trafficking of firearms.

ATF officials said the latest data on guns in the region 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.

All the guns were identified using the e-tracking system. The officials encouraged those who have not yet done so to sign a memorandum of understanding with ATF in order to gain this type of assistance.

Officials said the top four kinds of handguns seized in the region are very similar, which was “quite revealing” and “unexpected,” given the geographical size of the region. Information on the number and types of ammunition seized was not given.

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.

On March 9, the Prime Minister signalled the country's intention to join Mexico and other Caribbean countries in taking legal action against US gun manufacturers for gun-related offences in their respective countries. The Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago are now part of Mexico's US$10 billion lawsuit against seven US gun manufacturers and one wholesaler and distributor.

Wednesday’s meeting will look at a study on guns in the region entitled the Caribbean Firearms Study. Dr Nicolas Florquin, head of data and analytics at Small Arms Survey, a Switzerland-based organisation that did the research in partnership with Impacs, is expected to discuss his findings.

The study will include field-collected data which includes interviews with people convicted of gun-related offences and information on medical costs and productivity losses for gunshot victims.

During his opening remarks, US deputy chief of mission Shante Moore thanked Impacs for facilitating the meeting and for including the US in the discussions. He added that it is only through international co-operation that the region can effectively tackle illicit trafficking in firearms.

“Over the next three days, you will help to enhance citizen security by exchanging best practices, gaining a better understanding of new trends, and facilitating co-operative efforts to combat illicit trafficking in firearms in the Caribbean,” he told those gathered, including National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, who attended in place of the Prime Minister.

Moore said while the region is becoming more interconnected, criminal elements are doing likewise and use that connection to exploit gaps in the region’s interdiction efforts. He said this was the purpose of Tuesday’s meeting, which was a meeting of the minds in order to enhance co-operation at the national and regional levels.

Executive director at Impacs Lt Col Michael Jones said he wanted to focus his speech on solutions, which he said were dependent on the involvement of every Caribbean country.

“I am looking forward to a fully stood-up Caricom Crime Gun Intelligence Unit. However, I want to stress to member states that success depends on you.”

He added that the unit will fuse information and develop actionable intelligence for investigations and with crime’s transnational nature, there will always be multi-country links.

Impacs, he said, has been working with ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection and Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security to develop partnerships among the region and the international bodies

“The fight is complex and multifaceted, and our co-operation extends to the UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, UN Office on Drugs and Crime and Interpol, the OAS (Organization of American States), World Customs Organisation and all others who bring their own strengths to the table.”

The meeting comes a week after the Prime Minister announced the region’s decision to ban assault weapons except for security forces and competitive shooters.

In October 2020, Caribbean countries adopted the Roadmap for Implementing the Caribbean Priority Actions on the Illicit Proliferation of Firearms and Ammunition across the Caribbean in a Sustainable Manner by 2030 (Caribbean Firearms Roadmap).

Goals of the roadmap: Reinforce regulatory frameworks governing firearms and ammunition

Reduce the illicit flow of firearms and ammunition into, within and beyond the region Bolster law-enforcement capacity to combat illicit firearms and ammunition trafficking and their illicit possession and misuse

Systematically decrease the risk of diversion of firearms and ammunition from government- and non-government-owned arsenals.