A new US report on arms trafficking in the Caribbean found that the Bahamas had the highest percentage of recovered firearms that were obtained from the US and traced to US retail buyers.

The report, by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), found that the majority of weapons recovered in the Caribbean, 73 percent, between 2018 and 2022 were traced to the United States and trafficked into the Caribbean through various means.

It found that 45 percent of these trafficked guns “could be traced back to an original retail purchase in the United States, with most sales originating in Florida, Texas, and Georgia.”

The remaining 27 percent of recovered and traced firearms were either traced to 35 other countries (23 percent) or their source was of undetermined origin (four percent), the report said.

The report says the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) processed 7,399 traces of firearms recovered in Caribbean crimes from 2018 to 2022.

“GAO’s analysis of this data showed that 73 percent of these firearms (5,399), the majority of which were handguns, originated in the US,” the report said.

“While Caribbean countries do not manufacture firearms, U.S. and foreign officials have said that criminals from Caribbean countries can traffic firearms by air and sea using various concealment techniques and obtain firearms through illegal markets “.

Of the 25 Caribbean countries studied, the Bahamas had the highest percentage of recovered and traced firearms identified as originating in the US and traced to US retail purchasers (85%), and Trinidad and Tobago had the small percentage (23%).

During the review period, GAO said 1,217 guns found in the Bahamas were traced.

A breakdown shows that 192 guns were recovered and traced in 2018, 247 in 2019, 209 in 2020, 238 in 2021 and 331 in 2022.

According to the data, the Bahamas has the third largest amount of weapons recovered and traced among the 25 countries in the Caribbean.

Jamaica had 2,250 and Trinidad and Tobago 1,603.

These figures do not include guns recovered and not tracked by ATF.

Human traffickingThe report noted that U.S. and Caribbean law enforcement officials said their experience shows that many firearms enter countries illegally and are then sold there in illicit local markets.

“Dual citizens of Caribbean countries living in the US can buy or facilitate the purchase of firearms and ship them to their home countries because they have extensive contacts in both the US and the Caribbean country of destination” , the release states.

“While many dual nationals facilitate illegal firearms trafficking, US and Caribbean officials have told us that Caribbean gangs and international criminal networks drive the trafficking, which itself is driven by the lucrative business of illicit arms sales of fire.

“According to these officials, firearms are available for illegal purchase in illicit markets and resold at higher prices.

“For example, Bahamian officials told us that a firearm that retails for $350 in the U.S. can be illegally resold in the Bahamas for $1,600.

“An ATF official told us that laws for inspecting inbound shipments vary, and most Caribbean countries do not conduct such inspections to the same extent as the United States.”

The report also noted that between 2018 and 2023, 3,000 firearms were legally exported to the Bahamas.

The GAO said it was asked to report on US efforts to counter the trafficking of firearms to Caribbean nations.

“Some Caribbean nations, such as Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, have high rates of violence, including homicide,” it said.

“In 2021, Caribbean countries accounted for six of the 10 highest national crime rates in the world, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The United Nations and other organizations that monitor firearms trafficking have reported that a large percentage of the firearms used in these crimes were trafficked from the US.”

About 90 percent of homicides in the Bahamas over the past five years have been committed with a gun, according to Homeland Security Minister Wayne Munroe.

Prime Minister Philip Davis has consistently pressed the US to crack down on arms dealers.

“There must (be) an intervention and where they find evidence that a person is not buying it and not exercising his right to bear it, but buying it for the purpose of trafficking, legislative intervention must be employed to make persons responsible and liable for weapons that they purchase,” he said in 2022.

There have been over 100 murders in the Bahamas so far this year.