November 21, 2023
I often wonder if we have allowed the trafficking of illegal firearms to go on for too long, where those responsible for trafficking guns to the Caribbean are now embedded into our politics, economies and social fabric. I don’t want to think so. I want to think that we can stop the majority of the illegal guns being trafficked into the region. I do think our leaders will root out any bad actors and find a solution, along with America, to stop the illegal trafficking of these firearms.
One thing we have not looked at, and this may be a bit counter-intuitive, but we should legalize firearms in the region for decent, sensible, law abiding citizens. I think this would cut down on the illegal demand for firearms, because you would have less people looking for them on the streets- at the very least.
While the Caribbean leaders were very high minded when they chastised the US on their gun industry being the root cause of the trafficking to the region, they failed to address why these guns are needed in the region in the first place- They are needed because these Caribbean countries have let their societies be shot to crap, allowed a drug culture to become pervasive, which in turn has allowed for the proliferation of armed gangs to protect these drug assets and the innocent people caught in between, feel the need to protect themselves.
In a nutshell, this is what it is- We have failed our citizens to give them a safe living and working environment. They have failed us. But they can redeem themselves because I believe the efforts working in part with the US Department of Homeland Security along with the CARICOM IMPACS can make a dent in some of these illegal firearms. The paltry hall as outlined in the US State Department report aside, we should continue to be diligent and hopeful that they refine their efforts and make more significant seizures.