US Warns That Caribbean Nationals With Dual Citizenship Play a Significant Role in Illegal Gun Trade

WASHINGTON, DC – A new report is warning that Caribbean people with dual nationality who live in the United States can purchase or facilitate the purchase of firearms and ship them to their home countries given that they have extensive contacts in both the US and the destination Caribbean country.

The report by the United States Government Accountability Office based on data from the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) department the highest proportion of firearms traced to the United States had been recovered in The Bahamas as compared to any other Caribbean country.

The report found that 73 percent of the guns recovered in the Caribbean between 2018 and 2022 were traced back to the United States and trafficked to the Caribbean by various means.

It found that 45 percent of these trafficked guns “could be sourced back to an initial retail purchase in the United States, with most sales originating in Florida, Texas, and Georgia”.

The remaining 27 percent of recovered and traced firearms were either traced to 35 other countries (23 percent) or their source was of undetermined origin (four percent), the report said.

The report said that the ATF processed 7,399 traces of firearms recovered in crimes in the Caribbean from 2018 through 2022.

The report notes that a variety of concealment techniques are used to traffic the guns and  trafficked “most commonly through shipping transport and can be concealed in large items, such as automobiles and televisions, or broken into components and hidden in household items, such as bags of rice or cereal boxes, and packaged in breakbulk cargo.”

“Firearms are available for illegal purchase in illicit markets and resold for higher prices. For example, Bahamian officials told us that a firearm retailing for US$350 in the US can be resold illegally in The Bahamas for US$1,600.”

“In addition, US and Caribbean officials told us that corruption within Caribbean government agencies significantly hinders efforts to combat firearms trafficking. For instance, firearms traffickers bribe customs officials to ensure their shipments containing firearms or firearms parts go uninspected, resulting in fewer firearms seizures, according to US and Caribbean officials.”

Caribbean countries have called on Washington to do more to prevent the illegal guns trade which they have linked to the escalating crime situation in the region.

Regional leaders will meet in Guyana later this week for the Second Regional Symposium on Crime and Violence as a Public Health Issue.

The November 21-22 event is a follow up to the inaugural symposium that was held in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2023 with a declaration that called for a ban assault weapons in the region, except for security forces and sporting competitions.

The Caribbean leaders said they were also “deeply concerned at the high rate of illegal exportation of guns from the United States of America to the Caribbean region”.

Caribbean countries have also joined Mexico’s US$10 billion lawsuit to hold US gun manufacturers accountable for the spread of firearms in the region.

In August, a US judge ruled that Mexico did not demonstrate adequate connections between six of the eight defendants and Massachusetts, where the case was filed. The judge said Mexico failed to show that firearms sold in Massachusetts caused it any harm.

The report notes that both US and Caribbean law enforcement officials say their experience shows that many firearms enter countries illicitly and are then sold through local illicit markets.

“Dual nationals from Caribbean countries who live in the US can purchase or facilitate the purchase of firearms and ship them to their home countries, as they have extensive contacts in both the US and the destination Caribbean country.

“While many dual nationals facilitate illegal firearms trafficking, US and Caribbean officials told us that Caribbean gangs and international criminal networks drive the trafficking, which itself is driven by the lucrative business of illicit firearm sales,” the report said, noting that ‘according to these officials, firearms are available for illegal purchase in illicit markets and resold for higher prices.

“An ATF official told us that laws for the inspection of inbound shipments vary, and most Caribbean countries do not conduct such inspections to the same extent as the United States.”

“Some Caribbean nations, such as Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, have high rates of violence, including homicide.

“In 2021, Caribbean countries accounted for six of the world’s 10 highest national murder rates, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The United Nations and other organizations monitoring firearms trafficking have reported that a high percentage of the firearms used in these crimes have been trafficked from the US.”