By Gerrino J. Saunders
Journal Staff Writer
With close to 90 murders recorded in The Bahamas so far this year, unless there is
a drastic reduction over the last three months of the year the number of homicides
will likely surpass the 110 murders recorded in 2023.
Despite stiffer penalties in recent times, it is no secret that illegal fire arms and
ammunition have become prevalent in The Bahamas with the Royal Bahamas
Police and Defense Forces confiscating illegal weapons almost on a daily basis and
charging those guilty of possession before the courts.
This week The Bahamas hosted the three–day Bahamas Inter-Institutional
Roundtable Meeting of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap at police headquarters
where it was revealed by the Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe that fire
arms are being used in 70 percent of the homicides regionally, and a staggering 90
percent of homicides in The Bahamas over the last five year period.
“This figure is significantly higher than the global average of 30 percent and rather
disturbing considering that the Caribbean has less than one percent of the world’s
population,” said Munroe.
“In The Bahamas, like the region, we are keenly aware of how organized crime has
infiltrated our societies by exploiting our weakened systems and processes, while
targeting our most vulnerable citizens. The illicit activities involving firearms,
ammunition and other related criminal activities are eroding our very way of life.
This makes it all the more important that we address not just the manifestations of
crime, but the root causes that allow these underground networks to thrive,” said
Munroe.

The gathering of countries in the Caribbean along with representatives from the
United States and Canada was meant to strengthen partnerships and come up with
renewed policies, plans and ideas called a Caribbean Firearms Roadmap to combat
the proliferation of gun smuggling in the region, evidenced by the apparent ease of
access to firearms, despite them not being manufactured in The Bahamas or the
Caribbean.
In March of 2023 Prime Minister Philip Davis announced that The Bahamas joined
Mexico that is leading a $10 billion lawsuit to hold United States gun
manufacturers legally accountable for the large number of illegal firearms and the
damage they have caused to countries in the region. While a portion of the lawsuit
was recently dismissed the case is ongoing.
U.S. charge d’affaires Kimberly Furnish who also attended the opening ceremony
of the meeting said “the United States shares the Caribbean’s deep concern about
firearms trafficking negatively impacting their communities and recognizes the
urgent need to address this issue collaboratively.”
“Transnational criminal groups and drug traffickers continue to illicitly
disseminate small arms and ammunition throughout the Caribbean, threatening our
collective security, undermining regional stability and driving irregular migration
across the region,” said Furnish.
She noted that to help address the illegal firearms trafficking problem the US
Department of Justice recently appointed a special coordinator for Caribbean
firearms prosecutions who is working closely with the CARICOM Crime Gun
Intelligence Unit to better build US prosecutions against illicit firearms traffickers.
Ms. Furnish said, “We (US) recognize the danger firearms pose to citizen safety
especially when they fuel organized crime. We are proud to join you in these
important initiatives to stop firearms trafficking in the Caribbean.”

Soledad Urruela, director for the United Nations Regional Center for Peace
Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean also attended
the meeting and described such meetings among nations as very important.
She said, “through the discussion of each one of the roadmaps’ goals targets and
priority actions The Bahamas will be able to address the chain of firearms
trafficking from multiple angles promoting a common approach and future
initiatives as well as a common framework to track progress collaboratively.”
Meanwhile, according to Minister Munroe The Bahamas plans to adopt the
Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, along with 15 CARICOM member states that have
already formally adopted the initiative with each country implementing a national
plan that includes cooperation with regional partners on a number of levels
including sharing intelligence, cross border surveillance and military operations.
Mr. Munroe said “in today’s globalized world, criminal networks are leveraging
technology to their advantage and are becoming more coordinated in their
borderless operations.”
According to Minister Munroe, The Bahamas’ national action plan to fight illegal
fire arms trafficking will be included in the government’s recently release five
point national crime fighting plan.
He noted that The Bahamas is committed to contributing regional security.
Furnish said by drafting and ratifying the national action plan it is “crucial” to
support these initiatives as each country contributes its expertise to the task at
hand.