US pledges again to support CARICOM in fight against small-arms trafficking

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere at the United States Department of Defense, Daniel Erikson (second from right) at a meeting at the Office of the President. (Office of the President photo)

Small-arms trafficking in the Caribbean continues to undermine regional security and the United States has pledged again to continue playing a lead role in the war against guns.

CARICOM has over the years, expressed concern at the high rate of illegal exportation of guns from the United States to the Caribbean and the negative effects it has had. Last year CARICOM declared a ‘War on Guns’ and voiced its disquiet at the rates at which guns were being trafficked from the US.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere at the United States Department of Defense, Daniel Erikson, was on Tuesday asked by Stabroek News how the US is addressing the issue of small-arms smuggling.