The Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Bureau shared that at least 2,000 illegal guns in the Caribbean have been traced back to the US. The information was given at the opening of a three-day seminar on guns in the region.
The seminar hosted by the Caribbean Basin Security Institute (CBSI) along with the Caribbean Implementation Agency For Crime And Security (Impacs) dealt with preventing the illicit trafficking of firearms.
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The ATF Bureau reported that in January 2020 to December 2021, 2,491 pistols, 440 revolvers, 275 rifles, 162 shotguns, and 88 guns listed as “other” were seized based on their e-tracking system.
They have also identified the top four kinds of handguns seized in the region as very similar, saying it was “quite revealing” and “unexpected”.
According to US Deputy Chief of Mission Shante Moore, the goal for the multi-day meetings was to “enhance citizen security by exchanging best practices, gaining a better understanding of new trends, and facilitating cooperative efforts to combat illicit trafficking in firearms in the Caribbean”.
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. Col. Jones has a vision of a
Caricom Crime Gun Intelligence Unit, as he shared 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.”
He added that the unit will fuse information and develop actionable intelligence for investigations and with multi-country links.
The meeting followed up CARICOM leaders voicing their concerns at the recent Crime Summit citing the high level of gun violence across the region and making a decision to establish prohibitions on assault-style guns, which are mostly made in the US.
