<\/div>\n

<\/gu-island><\/figure>\n

Dr Diana Thorburn, from the thinktank Caribbean Policy Research Institute, said that the US taking some of the responsibility for this issue was a step in the right direction, but added that, while tackling gun trafficking was critical, it was important to recognise that it did not get to the root of the problem.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201c80% of Jamaica\u2019s murder rate is directly or indirectly related to gangs, and if you take that 80% out, Jamaica\u2019s murder rate is below the world average.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem of gun trafficking exists because of the demand for guns in the Caribbean, just as drug trafficking to the US exists because of the high demand for drugs in the US. In Jamaica, the demand for guns exists because of the gangs, and they are the ones responsible for the high murder rate. If they weren\u2019t getting guns from the US, they\u2019d get them from somewhere else because, though most of the guns recovered in Jamaica are from the US, not all are. There are other sources.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source: www.theguardian.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jamaica\u2019s deputy prime minister has welcomed a campaign by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, to push through new measures and legislation to tackle gun trafficking from the US to the Caribbean. Horace Chang, who is also Jamaica\u2019s minister of security, praised a coalition of 14 US attorneys general, led by James, that is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":92146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"\n