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| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| Jamaica drugs crackdown: women, children evacuated | |
| 2010-05-24 | |
Jamaican authorities have ordered the evacuation of all women and children from Kingston's roughest neighborhoods, as police clashed with powerful gangs over the planned extradition of a drug suspect to the United States.
Residents were directed to buses which ferried them to a safe location away from the violence. But many telephoned radio stations to say they feared for their lives and could not leave the area. Police said that gunmen from various communities across this Caribbean country of 2.8 million had joined forces with criminal elements in Tivoli Gardens in a bid to protect reputed area leader, Christopher "Dudus" Coke. "Images of barricades, other defensive positions and the aforementioned unprovoked attacks together with credible intelligence indicate that scores of criminals from several gangs across the island have joined criminal elements in Tivoli Gardens. "It is now clear that criminal elements are determined to launch coordinated attacks on the security forces," the release warned. Earlier police said three police stations were attacked, with one set on fire, and that a police officer and a civilian were wounded by gunfire in street clashes. The police, backed by the state of the emergency declared by the Jamaican government, made it clear that they would respond in an appropriate manner | |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #4 I was in LA during the Bloods vs. Crips violence in the late 80s. Then the Jamaican gangs moved in and the body and mayhem count went up by a factor of 10 or more. Nasty, violent. The Bloods and Crips, and later the Latin Kings, had a smidgeon of what passed for honor and belonging, however warped. The Jamaican gangs killed (and still do) because they felt like it and could. Nihilistic and value life less than dirt. If interdiction had worked it would have worked a longtime ago. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-05-24 20:30 |
| #3 aspolice clashed with powerful gangs over the planned extradition of a drug suspect to the United States. Jamaica is an island. One would think the drugs coming into the U.S. could be interdicted. There's always the Predator solution. Jamaica is a beautiful island. Negril is pretty sleepy--not at all like Kingston. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-05-24 09:52 |
| #2 Surely, the arrest and extradition of this miscreant will end the gang problem in Jamaica. |
| Posted by: gromky 2010-05-24 02:31 |
| #1 A beautiful island. And the creepiest place I've ever been. I wouldn't go back for free. The local's take on things. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-05-24 00:16 |