Holness calls for bold, united action to dismantle gangs, tackle climate crisis
July 7, 2025
WESTERN BUREAU:
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has declared that dismantling criminal gangs across the Caribbean must be treated with the urgency of the global war on terror.
Holness warned that organised violence now poses a public health threat regionwide.
Delivering a commanding address as incoming chair of CARICOM at the 49th Conference of Heads of Government at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Sunday, Holness called for transformative action on a range of critical issues, from climate justice and security to youth empowerment and regional integration, urging his colleagues to “cross the rivers” of shared challenges together.
“There can be no sustained prosperity without security,” Holness asserted, referencing a 2024 UNODC report that spotlighted escalating gang activity in Jamaica, St Lucia, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. “We need to launch a war on gangs of a similar magnitude and nature to the war on terror.”
He emphasised that while the roots of gang violence may lie in poverty, broken homes, and social alienation, the modern manifestation is far more sinister, driven by transnational profit, organized intelligence, and firearm access.
VIOLENCE FOR PROFIT
“This is no longer about street-level dispossession,” he warned. “It is the organisation of violence for profit, and our policy and jurisprudence must evolve to address it.”
Holness underscored that this crisis should be treated as both a national security threat and a public health emergency, noting that in Jamaica, 90 per cent of those involved in homicides, both perpetrators and victims are male.