Source: Loop Caribbean News
The US Government announced that it is putting measures in place to stop the trafficking of weapons to the Caribbean.
Anthony Salisbury, a special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, along with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) partners made the announcement on Friday.
“HSI and our partners will investigate and seek to prosecute any individuals involved in illegal arms trafficking,” said Salisbury. “Today we make it very clear that the United States, and in particular south Florida, is not open for business regarding the illegal trafficking of weapons.”
Salisbury said HSI has seen a substantial increase in the number of weapons, calibre and type of firearms, being illegally trafficked. Some of those weapons include .50 calibre sniper rifles, 308 rifles, and a belt-fed machine gun.
“In the wrong hands, these weapons could cause mass casualties,” he said.
Guns trafficked from the US have been linked to a surge of gang-related and reprisal murders in The Bahamas this year. At least 88 murders were recorded in the country this year and most of the victims were men on remand for other murders.
Measures to stop the flow of illegal weapons include extra resources being placed into the Border Enforcement Security Taskforce and increased inspections of US export shipments to ensure compliance with federal laws.
Agencies are also leveraging information developed from investigations and partnerships with foreign customs officials and police to target shipments and individuals that may be engaged in smuggling.