PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Nov 12, CMC – Chair of the CARICOM Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE), Harish Monorath, has warned that illegal firearms trafficking remains a major security threat across the Caribbean, fuelling violent crime and gang activity.
Monorath, who is also Suriname’s Minister of Justice and Security, said criminal networks were becoming more organised and increasingly exploiting borders, ports and maritime routes to move weapons, drugs and other illicit goods.
“Across the Caribbean, firearms remain a significant enabler of violent crime and gang activity. Criminal groups are becoming more organised, more sophisticated and increasingly transnational,” he said.
He was addressing the opening session of the two-day 29th meeting of CONSLE, held in Paramaribo from November 10 to 11, which brought together CARICOM ministers responsible for national security and senior law enforcement officials.
Monorath said individual member states could not tackle firearms trafficking alone, calling for stronger regional cooperation to trace illegal weapons, identify their sources, disrupt trafficking networks and improve intelligence-sharing.
He also called for accelerated implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, describing it as an important framework for reducing gun violence and strengthening public safety across the Community.
The minister said advancing the regional firearms agenda would be one of three priorities during Suriname’s chairmanship of CONSLE.
The proposed efforts include strengthening firearms tracing capabilities, improving intelligence-sharing among member states and deepening cooperation among police, customs, immigration, coast guard and prosecutorial authorities.
Suriname has already introduced measures to strengthen its response to gun violence, launching a digital firearms register earlier this year with support from the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS).
The system is designed to improve the monitoring and tracing of firearms and provide law enforcement agencies with additional tools to combat gun-related crime.
“Above all, we need the political will to treat these issues as closely linked elements of one collective Caribbean security challenge,” Monorath said.
CONSLE is responsible for coordinating regional security matters and developing strategies to address threats to national and regional security, including serious crime and violence.
CMC/ed/2026