Caribbean Community nations, which have been railing recently about a growing number of high powered weapons being smuggled in from the US causing crime spikes in the region, appear now to be getting the attention of Congress with several leading figures asking for an official probe.
Three Congressmen, Gregory Meeks, Joaquin Castro and Richard Durban have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a review into the illegal trafficking of guns from the US to the Caribbean.
They are complaining about the “high levels of gun violence and trafficking of illicit firearms across the Western Hemisphere. Arms trafficking originating in the United States is drawing increased scrutiny from US law enforcement and increased concern from Caribbean leaders,” they wrote in an April 3 letter, quoted by the Nassau Guardian in The Bahamas this week. “Media reports cite Bahamian claims that more than 90 percent of guns confiscated and used as murder weapons in The Bahamas can be traced back to US manufacturers and gun shops,” the lawmakers said in their request for action. The Bahamas recorded 128 murders last year, most involving illegal weapons.
The request for an inquiry comes just days after The Bahamas, Trinidad, St. Vincent and Antigua announced plans to join up with Mexico in a lawsuit aimed at holding American gun manufacturers accountable for their products of death. Other bloc nations have signaled plans to also sign on to the lawsuit.
Embattled Prime Minister Phillip Davis immediately jumped on the issue, saying that while he has no interest in bashing anyone “to get involved in their US domestic issue of the right to bear arms, we are concerned that purchasers of guns are not just buying them to bear but rather to export and to traffic.” Davis has been in the forefront of the effort to file the lawsuit with Mexico, saying it is necessary.
“The guns used in the commission of violent crimes in The Bahamas are not manufactured here, but instead, are manufactured abroad and illegally trafficked across our borders,” he noted. “A critical element of the government’s effort to reduce violent crime in our country is cracking down on the proliferation of firearms, with particular focus on strengthening borders and entry points and on interrupting networks of illegal smugglers. “
Reacting to the growing pressure from regional governments in recent weeks, the US government has responded by saying that it has invested more than $1 billion over the past 12 years on crime and security abatement efforts in the region. “Our actions demonstrate the US government’s commitment to helping The Bahamas and the Caribbean effectively address firearms trafficking. We will continue our mission to remove illegal guns from the streets and work with our partners to address violent crime,” a release had stated.
The congressional trio even pointed to the situation in Haiti where heavily armed gangs have paralyzed life in some parts of the country using weapons sourced from the US. End/bw
