Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne has confirmed that Trinidad and Tobago has officially signed on to Mexico’s legal challenge which seeks to hold private US gun manufacturers to account for their part in creating a flow of arms and ammunition to the region.
Mexico made a request to Caricom earlier this month, to join the legal action.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had stated then, that he was actively considering it.
Browne said: “All we are required to do is to provide a diplomatic note and a clear indication to the legal team that is carrying the case on behalf of the Mexican government. We’ve done that.”
He said it was part and parcel of a multi-dimensional approach to addressing the scourge of violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago and across the Caricom region.
Other Caricom countries, including Jamaica, The Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, have already signed on to the case, which is being pursued in the US courts.
“A number of heads of government in our region have agreed that this is one opportunity for us to unite, present a common face to the elements that would be contributing to the challenge that we are facing as small societies in the Western Hemisphere,” Browne noted.
Seven major gun manufacturers, one gun wholesaler and a distributor are named in the US$10 billion suit, which has already been dismissed by a US district court in Massachusetts. Mexico has appealed and this is what it is seeking regional support for.
The announcement comes as Caricom leaders are prepared to meet for a two-day symposium to discuss crime as a public health issue on April 17th and 18th, here in Trinidad.
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