The World Briefly
April 21, 2023Cutting the Cord
Caribbean Community
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Leaders of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) agreed this week to introduce bans on assault-style weapons in their countries in an effort to curb the spike in gun violence and weapon smuggling in the 15-nation bloc, the Associated Press reported.
The agreement came Tuesday following a summit in Trinidad and Tobago on crime, where Caribbean leaders complained about a rise in gangland violence, boosted by the availability of high-powered, military-style weapons smuggled in mostly from the United States.
Bahamian Prime Minister and Caricom Chairman Phillip Davis said during the summit that nearly 99 percent of illicit guns collected in his nation could be traced back to the US. However, he did not specify what percentage of those seized weapons were assault-style weapons.
Meanwhile, Keith Rowley, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, said that bloc nations will need legislation to support the ban and called on opposition lawmakers in the region to support parliamentary action by their governments.
The proposed ban comes a few weeks after a number of Caricom countries announced plans to team up with Mexico to sue American gun makers over firearms trafficked into their countries.
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