Jamaica Issues State of Emergency Due To Rising Gun Violence

FOX News: Tourists in Jamaica warned to stay in resorts after shootings lead to state of emergency

British and Canadian tourists were warned to stay inside their Montego Bay resorts in Jamaica after a spate of violence led officials there to deploy soldiers and declare a state of emergency.

The British government on Thursday advised its citizens visiting the tropical island that they should “limit movements” outside of resorts and exercise caution if traveling at night.

Police have said they will take a zero tolerance approach to crime in the parish of St. James, where Montego Bay is located, and nearby communities that have seen an increase in killings that officials blame on gangs and lottery scams.

On Jan. 19 Canada advised citizens visiting Jamaica to “exercise a high degree of caution” while traveling in the country.

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Update #1: British tourists warned to 'stay in resorts' in Jamaica security emergency (BBC)
Update #2: Britons in Jamaica's Montego Bay urged to stay in resorts (The Guardian/Agencies)
Update #3: Jamaica travel: Everything you need to know about state of emergency -- The Independent

WNU Editor: A couple that we know went to a Montego Bay resort for a week after Christmas. They told me when they came back that you can gunfire at night in the distance.

Jamaica's Violence Claims 73 Lives While Authorities Seek Drug Kingpin

Jamaica Unrest Death Toll Reaches 73 -- Voice of America

Jamaican police say 73 people have been killed since authorities launched an assault Sunday for an alleged drug lord wanted by the United States.

Authorities announced the increased death toll Thursday.

The outbreak of violence was triggered when the Jamaican government moved to extradite Christopher "Dudus" Coke. He is wanted in the United States for alleged cocaine and arms trafficking.

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More News On Jamaica

Jamaica leader under fire over assault -- AFP
Jamaican PM unable to say where alleged drug lord is -- National Post
Death toll rises to 76 in Jamaica raids -- Dallas News/McClatchy News/AP
Jamaican gunfight death toll rises to 73 -- CBC
Jamaican unrest toll rises -- Al Jazeera
Jamaica death toll rises but kingpin eludes assault -- AFP
Deaths Rise in Jamaica Amid Manhunt -- Wall Street Journal
Hunt for drug 'kingpin' fuels unrest in Jamaica -- Calgary Herald/AFP
Witnesses: Bodies burning in Jamaica -- CNN
Bullets, bodies haunt Jamaica -- Miami Herald
Jamaicans, Under Siege, Speak Out -- New York Times
Independence only brought crime and violence to Jamaica -- Times Online
Jamaica violence 'linked to US drug market' -- BBC
Jamaica's assertive gangs symptom of deeper crisis -- Toronto Star
Tourist-dependent Jamaica suffers image blow -- AFP
Tears for Jamaica: It’s Safe for Tourists, Sad for Citizens -- Macleans
The battle for Kingston, Jamaica -- The Guardian
Jamaica's Drug Rebellion -- Chris Salewicz, Wall Street Journal

Jamaica's Drug War Continues

Bodies In The Streets As 60 Die Protecting 'Robin Hood' Jamaican Druglord Wanted By The U.S. -- The Daily Mail

Thousands of police and soldiers stormed the Jamaican ghettos where reggae was born in search of a reputed drug kingpin wanted by the United States.

At least 60 people are now believed to have died in the three days of street battles.

The masked gunmen fighting for underworld boss Christopher 'Dudus' Coke say he is a Robin Hood-like figure who provides services and protection.

But it is all funded by a criminal empire that seemed untouchable until the US demanded his extradition.

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More News On Jamaica's Continuing Drug War Crisis

Jamaica police gain hold on drug lord's stronghold -- Yahoo News/AP
Death toll from Jamaica violence rises -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Unrest Grows in Jamaica in 3rd Day of Standoff -- New York Times
Jamaica gun battles claim 60 lives -- Times Online
Jamaica violence sees scores killed in hunt for Christopher 'Dudus' Coke -- The Guardian
Bloody Conflict Escalates in Jamaica -- Wall Street Journal
Violence surges in Jamaica as troops hunt alleged drug kingpin -- Washington Post
Jamaica pledges order as death toll rises to 60 -- Sydney Morning Herald
Bodies pile up in Jamaica's assault for drug kingpin -- Yahoo News/AFP
Kingston residents 'prisoners in own homes' -- BBC
Jamaica attacks: a legacy of ties between politicians and gangs -- Christian Science Monitor
Jamaica PM Bruce Golding denies having links to drugs baron Dudus -- Times Online
Christopher Coke indictment: a story of drugs, cash and guns -- Times Online
Jamaica unrest prompts tourism worries -- CNN
Jamaica violence: British holidaymakers continue to travel -- The Telegraph

Gun Battles Between Police And Drugs Gangs In Jamaica Continue

Jamaica 'Drug Lord' Standoff Kills At Least 11 People -- BBC News

At least 11 people died in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, when troops stormed the stronghold of an alleged drug lord, Jamaican officials said.

Gunfire erupted as troops and police moved into the Tivoli Gardens district to search for Christopher "Dudus" Coke, who is wanted by the United States.

A state of emergency has been in place in parts of Kingston since Friday, when several police stations were attacked.

The decision to extradite him has angered his supporters.

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More News On Jamaica's War Against Drug Gangs

Jamaica cops attack drug lord's slum stronghold -- Yahoo News/AP
Bloodshed as Jamaica raids drug kingpin's stronghold -- Yahoo News/AFP
Jamaica cops, soldiers invade slum stronghold where gunmen defend reputed drug kingpin -- FOX News
Gun Battles in Jamaica Intensify -- Voice of America
Gunmen clash with Kingston police in bid to halt extradition of ‘drug lord’ -- Times Online
Kingston in 'state of emergency' over drug lord -- BBC
Gangsters battle with security forces in Jamaican capital -- BBC
Part of Jamaican capital locked down in battle for drug lord -- Toronto Star
Jamaica attacks reveal ties between gangsters and politicians -- Christian Science Monitor

Jamaica Declares State of Emergency After Gun Battles With Drug Gangs

Jamaica Declares State Of Emergency: Profile Of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke -- The Telegraph

Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is revered by some Jamaicans as a Robin Hood-type figure but is accused by US prosecutors of running a dangerously violent global drug ring

The 42-year-old has won a passionate following in his impoverished neighbourhood of the Jamaican capital Kingston, where residents have taken up arms in a bid to stop his extradition to the United States.

Coke is among dozens of Jamaicans who have allegedly developed vast commercial interests on the margins of society, running networks that control the flow of drugs and other lucrative underworld activities.

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More News On Jamaica Declaring A State Of Emergency

Jamaican Police Moving In To Arrest Alleged Drug Lord Christopher Coke -- ABC News
Jamaica: Gun battles intensifying, spreading -- Yahoo News/AP
Jamaica: Gunfire, Fire Bombs in Barricaded Slum -- New York Times/AP
Running gun battles in Jamaica to protect island's drug lord -- The Telegraph
Kingston declares state of emergency after gangs attack police -- The Guardian
Jamaica Declares Emergency Amid Unrest -- New York Times
Jamaica Emergency Over Christopher "Dudus" Coke, Alleged Drug Lord Wanted by U.S. -- CBS News
Jamaica PM Bruce Golding promises to end unrest -- BBC
Air Jamaica cancels flights due to violence -- Jamaica Observer
Profile: Christopher 'Dudus' Coke -- the Guardian

Guns From America Fuel Jamaica's Gang Wars

Sign in an inner-city community, Kingston Jamaica. (Photo from Amnesty International)

From Yahoo News/AP:

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Ships from Miami steam into Jamaica's main harbor loaded with TV sets and blue jeans. But some of the most popular U.S. imports never appear on the manifests: handguns, rifles and bullets that stoke one of the world's highest murder rates.

The volume is much less than the flow of U.S. guns into Mexico that end up in the hands of drug cartels — Jamaican authorities recover fewer than 1,000 firearms a year. But of those whose origin can be traced, 80 percent come from the U.S., Jamaican law enforcement officials have said in interviews with The Associated Press.

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My Comment: I visited Jamaica with my parents in 1971. I loved the place. Reggae music, happy people, great beaches. I visited Jamaica again in 1979 .... sigh .... a high crime rate, a socialist prime minister who was supportive of Castro, and an economic collapse as non-blacks fled the country. I vowed never to go back.

But times are starting to change. A friend of mine visited Jamaica last year, and she loved it (within the confines of the tourist spot that she was vacationing). But outside, everyone knows that Jamaica has one of the highest murder rates in the world. The stats for 2008 is 1,600 murders (recorded) out of a population of 2.8 million.

But will Jamaica ever recover to what it once was .... and will its culture of violence ever go away .... only time will tell.