Caribbean Gangsters Paradise Part 2: Imported illegal guns ‘shooting-up’ deadly regional gang violence

By Earl Bousquet

DURING the Easter weekend, I cautiously welcomed the repeated news reports of apparent return to normalcy in Saint Lucia after families in Vieux Fort, with relative peace and calm restored, had started burying their dead.

Also heavily-advertised was a family fun day planned for one of the town’s multipurpose courts, to encourage trust in the restored calm that had seen schools and businesses reopen after a sustained period of violence that had taken over 21 lives and instilled fear and anxiety island-wide.

The Police Commissioner had also, just ahead of the weekend celebrations, welcomed “the positive difference” made by the increased financial and material assistance from the government, including drones, scanners, bulletproof jackets, more vehicles and more officers being recruited.

She also welcomed the presence of the regional Special Services Unit (SSU) contingent in the town and elsewhere, as her officers moved “to take back our streets…”

But just as I started feeling my unease might have been (gladly) misplaced, I was proven wrong – and right.

Not to my surprise: Late Easter Sunday night and later on Easter Monday, four more persons were killed in Vieux Fort -- in less than 24 hours -- including a mother and her grandchild, in a neighbourhood often visited by police pursuing gangsters and investigating