Hakeem Jeffries Reassures Caribbean Leaders the US is Working to Curb Illegal Gun Trafficking

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Minority Leader In the United States House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, Thursday sought to re-assure Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries that every effort is being made in Washington to curb the illegal trade of guns and ammunition into the Caribbean.

Jefferies, who is leading a delegation of lawmakers to Trinidad and Tobago held talks with Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley and later told reporters the trip builds upon the important work the Biden-Harris administration has undertaken in the region.

The delegation includes Greg Meeks, the top Democrat on the foreign affairs committee,  Yvette Clarke second first vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in Providence, member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Steven Horsford, who has roots here in Trinidad and Tobago.

Jefferies who also met with CARICOM leaders who ended a three-day summit here on Wednesday night, said “the last two days have been incredibly informative for us. We came to Trinidad and Tobago to listen to find a common path forward”.

He said the trip was also designed to act in the best interest of the relationship between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.

“We understand that we have a shared history that we share a neighborhood and that of course, we have shared values in Trinidad and Tobago alongside e thriving democracy and as evidenced by the Congressional delegation that also included Congressman Joaquin Castro, top Democrat on the subcommittee of foreign affairs, with jurisdiction over the western hemisphere. Our delegation is an indication that America continues to thrive in the democracy, as well as issues that have been discussed so eloquently raised by the Prime Minister.

He said these included finding a path forward to tackle the challenges related to the explosion of gun trafficking.

“Gun violence is something that we’re not stranger to hear as members representing constituents in America. Unfortunately, it has been visited upon the people of Trinidad and Tobago, but we understand that the guns that are being illegally trafficked in Trinidad and Tobago are being used in violent acts are not manufactured here.”

Jeffries said that In almost every instance, the weapons are manufactured and initially purchased in the United States of America.

He acknowledged that this poses a challenge and it is important to find a path forward to deal with that crisis “as well as showing that the energy security,  the economic security of Trinidad and Tobago in a challenging geopolitical environment can be sustained and can thrive.

The US lawmakers said that the last Congress was able to finally break the back of the strong gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA) as well as pass gun safety legislation in America for the first time in 30 years.

“That is a foundation to do more, but they also provide us with an opportunity to meet the moment in terms of the contract challenges that we can find in the United States of America and that you can find here in Trinidad and Tobago,”

Jeffries said that the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, will for the first time, ensure that illegal gun trafficking and purchasing both within the United States and externally, like in Trinidad and Tobago be a federal crime.

“It will give the Department of Justice, it will give the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), it will give the FBI the ability now to more aggressively go after the contract workers who are flooding our communities in the United States and your country here in Trinidad and Tobago with weapons of war in ways that are uncomfortable and unacceptable.,”

He said that the Biden administration .has designated a special prosecutor specifically charged with jurisdiction to deal with the gun trafficking problem.

The lawmakers sought to determine the manner by which guns have been illegally trafficked into Trinidad and Tobago, asking whether it is through containers  and coming in through ports of entry and shipping channels or brought in through airplane flights.

“I think part of the reason why that question was asked is because we intend to take the information that we continue to receive from Prime Minister Rowley and the administration here in Trinidad and Tobago to try to enhance our enforcement efforts.

“We want to be good neighbors. The last thing that we want to do is explore our gun violence problem to Trinidad and Tobago. And we take the challenges that you now face seriously. An attempt to work with the administration back in the United States of America to encourage them to use all available resources in terms of enforcement,” Jeffries said.

The US lawmakers said that they intend to work with colleagues in a bipartisan manner “and again as our leader has said, looking at all manner in which the Caribbean region is seeing sort of the stream of weaponry coming into the region.

“We can use our support through our Department of Homeland Security, to tighten up and begin to crack the code ….and take a comprehensive look at the challenge that all of the CARICOM nations are facing with respect to gun trafficking and the rise of gun violence,” Clarke said.

They said every single CARICOM leader that they have met with over the course of the last day of service “raise gun trafficking and gun violence as a challenge.  Certainly. Prime Minister Rowley has raised a significant issue that we need to find a way to tackle and tackle decisively and it is our intention to do just that.

“And certainly I think that will be one of our takeaways as we return back to the country, the United States,” Jeffries said.

Meeks said that the gun situation is an issue Prime Minister Rowley brings to us “every time he visits the United States, anytime he talks to a member of United States Congress or the administration.

“This is an issue that we had articulated and talked about how important it is for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. And what was significant is he did it again in the presence of Secretary Blinken (US Secretary of State) at the plenary session of CARICOM,” Meeks added.

“Caribbean people are now our constituents living in the United States. So it’s incumbent upon us to also know what the region needs are here,”  said Horsford.