#BTEditorial – The Vincentian Massacre: Are we ready to confront the menace of narcoterrorism and arms trafficking?

A week ago, the Eastern Caribbean was visited by a ghoulish spectre more common to our rich neighbour to the north – a mass shooting –  in the Vincentian capital, Kingstown, our next-door neighbour 99 miles away.

A shocking, brazen and vicious attack by gunmen claimed the lives of five people, including a 13-year-old boy.. This tragic event demands our utmost attention and action across the region. This is no mere Vincentian tale of woe. As details of the origins of the killings came to light and amid police intelligence that warned of reprisals, it is evident that we are facing a grave threat to not only the security of St Vincent and the Grenadines but also to the entire region. This incident, along with the rising death toll in the form of murders and police-related shootings, is a harrowing harbinger of the looming rise of narcoterrorism.

Commissioner of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Colin John, has provided sober insights into the ongoing investigation and the likely motives behind this horrifying act. The use of an assault weapon – an all-too-common bringer of certain death and severe maiming – indicates the influx of weapons of war and the heightened risk that such weapons pose to the safety of innocent civilians.

Furthermore, the menace of possible reprisals highlights the existence of deeply entrenched rivalries and conflicts, driven by drug crime and gangs.

In seeking to assure the public that this violence was somehow restricted to a presumed gangland in a “generally safe” country, Commissioner John stopped just short of fateful, regrettably judgmental, prejudice: “Based on our intel, these shootings, the majority of them, they as a result of something that … happened since 2014, where some drug transaction went wrong and then persons who are friends then became foe and then it continued up to today.

“Some persons who were killed last night, we had spoken to them before and that … assisted in preserving their lives up to last night, based on proactive policing.”

This proactive policing clearly had reached its limit. And the blood of a child victim should be sufficient proof that this violence is a national tragedy with regional implications.

Even if much of the violence is linked to drug transactions gone awry, which has bred animosity among former friends, now turned foes, the spillover of gang wars into the streets has turned communities into battlegrounds and must be addressed with urgency. There is a lethal nexus between drugs and gangs that threatens not only the stability of St Vincent and the Grenadines but the internal security of neighbouring countries like ours.

Montgomery Daniel, who was acting prime minister while Dr Ralph Gonsalves was in Morocco at the time, rightly describes the recent gun violence as an act of terror that has shaken Vincentian communities to their core. The fact that some of the victims had survived previous attempts on their lives merely underscores the relentless nature of these criminal elements. The Vincentian government’s determination to respond resolutely to this outbreak of violence, just as the authorities in another neighbour, St Lucia, have sought to do about the bloodletting in the southern city of Vieux Fort is commendable. It is also pointing to a trend that will require a fully collaborative regional effort is needed to tackle the broader issue of gang violence, narcoterrorism and small arms trafficking. These are little local difficulties no more.

Narcoterrorism represents an alarming convergence of drug and weapons trafficking and organized criminal activities with the tactics and brutality of terrorism – even despite the legalisation of marijuana in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Witness Haiti and Jamaica. Its insidious presence has the potential to turn nations into failed states. As a region, we must unite to confront this menace head-on. The transnational nature of drugs and weapons trafficking networks demands coordinated efforts between law enforcement agencies and intelligence services across Caribbean nations. While armchair critics question CARICOM’s value after 50 years, we rely on the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) and the Regional Security System (RSS) for the sharing of crucial information and intelligence between national police forces. The interdiction efforts of coast guards and navies, including British and American forces, are vital to disrupting these criminal networks at their core.

CARICOM nations need to be on the same page with a comprehensive, multifaceted strategy against narcoterrorism and small arms trafficking. This strategy must include stronger border control measures and increased vigilance against drug trafficking and arms smuggling; improving the IMPACS platform for sharing intelligence on criminal networks and greater investment by our politicians in the training, resources and technology for law enforcement.

Yet none of the law enforcement and interdiction efforts should take on typical top-down approaches that are redolent of the colonial era. To strengthen citizen security, the Caribbean must engage and empower communities through education, rehabilitation and an infrastructure of opportunity.

We also return to what we believe is at the heart of this rising tide of bloodshed and menace: deepening inequality in our island nations. Much as our rich northern neighbours might want to sell us weaponry and gear that will militarise our civilian authorities, we would prefer their support for economic opportunities to prevent vulnerable individuals from being lured into crime. We must rededicate ourselves to ensuring that no one is left behind in our nations – be it in Deacons Farm, Barbados, or Paul’s Lot, St Vincent.

Above all, access to, trafficking in and use of assault weapons must be punishable by the harshest possible penalties a civilised nation of reasonable, humane people could muster. There is no constitutional right, hunting culture, gun lobby or political ideology to disrupt a strong legislative effort to ensure the safety and security of our little zone of peace.

To borrow a phrase from a colourful but sage Barbadian jurist, let us act faster than a bullet can travel. ]]>