US must help stop illegal guns being exported to The Caribbean

St Vincent's PM said illegal guns from the US are posing a "risk to the security and integrity of the civilian population, especially women, youth and adolescent" across the Caribbean

DEMANDS: Dr. The Hon. Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

THE PRIME Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines has called on the United States to do more to stop illegal guns from being exported to The Caribbean.

Speaking on a radio programme PM Ralph Gonsalves said there is a link between the guns manufactured in the US, the illegal drug trade and the high rate of murders in some Caribbean and Latin American countries.

“The United States of America had to do something about not having the easy access to guns and the easy exportation of guns. They have the resources to help us with that,” he said.

The PM also noted that Mexico has circulated a draft resolution to be discussed at the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Argentina “on this very matter”, later this month.

The draft notes that the CELAC members meeting in Bueno Aires for their seventh summit “acknowledges that while the region represents 8% of the world population, it experiences 37% of the world’s homicide mostly caused by firearms that have been manufactured or distributed in the United States and then trafficked in the region.”

Mr Gonsalves said the draft also states that CELAC is urgently looking into the initiatives that can control the illegal trade of firearms across the Caribbean to “combat illegal flows which generate situation of violence and put at risk the security and integrity of the civilian population, especially women, youth and adolescent.”

He added the draft resolution will propose that the gun industry uses technology so illegal weapons can be tracked.

Mr Gonsalves said worryingly seven out of the ten countries with the highest homicide rate per 100,000 in the world are from The Caribbean and  Latin America.

Comments Form

1 Comment

  1. | Chaka

    In the 1970s, the U.S. Secretary of State, punished Jamaica, by flooding the island nation with small arms for being friendly to Cuba.
    Jamaica has a shockingly high murder rate as a result, to this day.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*

Support The Voice

The Voice Newspaper is committed to celebrating black excellence, campaigning for positive change and informing the black community on important issues. Your financial contributions are essential to protect the future of the publication as we strive to help raise the profile of the black communities across the UK. Any size donation is welcome and we thank you for your continued support.

Support Sign-up