Posted on 05/23/2010 8:15:17 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Jamaican authorities placed Kingston under a state of emergency and urged people to leave the city’s roughest neighbourhoods overnight, as police clashed with armed gangs over the possible extradition of a drug suspect to the United States.
A police officer and a civilian were wounded by gunfire in street clashes and three police stations came under attack in the city, while women and children were told to evacuate. One police station was set ablaze after police abandoned it ran out of bullets, police said.
Authorities alleged that gunmen from various communities across the Caribbean country of 2.8 million had joined forces with criminal elements in Tivoli Gardens in a bid to protect reputed gang leader, Christopher “Dudus” Coke.
“It is now clear that criminal elements are determined to launch coordinated attacks on the security forces,” police warned in a statement.
With tensions soaring, they added, “all decent and law-abiding residents of Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town are been asked to leave those respective communities immediately.”
Residents asked to leave were directed to buses which would take them to a safe location. But many telephoned radio stations insisting that they feared for their lives, and could not leave.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding held an emergency meeting with his cabinet Sunday and issued a State of Emergency for Kingston and St. Andrew that came into effect at 6pm (2300 GMT) and will last for at least a month.
Trouble began earlier this week in Kingston after the government approved a US extradition request for Coke, a reputed gang boss and local community leader wanted on drug and gun trafficking charges.
Thousands of Coke supporters took to the streets on Thursday amid police reports gangs in the area were amassing weapons and had erected barricades in the street to prevent Coke’s detention, after
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Didn’t they have some fighting last year too? or was that a few years ago?
World’s goin’ to Hell in a handcart.
Obama’s new DNI.
Impossible. It’s against the law to own guns in Jamaica.
A bunch of Coke heads, no doubt.
Was Coke trafficking in pot or coke?;)
If they raise hell over Coke, just wait till they get New Coke.
If only Jamaica shared a border with us, they could just come here.
Some people here wanted a drug war, and that’s what they’re getting now in Jamaica, and Mexico, and a lot of other places. I hope they’re happy.
The place is getting as bad as Chicago.
That's some serious martial law. Long enough to mobilize.
yitbos
a girl i used to work with went to some fenced in compound there for her honeymoon last year and spent a TON of money doing it but never left the fence other that going from and to the airport as it was tooo dangerous... i told the silly cow she could of gone to fla. and saved all that money and just tell people she went the sh!thole and they'd never know the difference
I thought things went better with Coke.
Americans, Canadians and Europeans use the drugs, that’s why we have these issues in these foreign lands. The US could try legalizing the stuff and sellling the stuff dirt cheap to destroy the demand from these ruffians but I’m not sure that wouldn’t stop the fighting.
That would make far too much sense.
Legalizing alcohol stopped the speakeasies from being machine-gunned by the gangsters. Considering how spiders under the influence of various substances weave webs (a popular thread for today and yesterday) I don’t see why drugs today should be any different than alcohol in the 30s.
Same here!!!
Of all the countries I've been to, and the ones I've never been to and never wanted to visit, my best friend picks this compost pile to get married in. And I bought our tickets.
Hopefully in the next 6 months, the fascist authorities will quell the local barbarians long enough for my friends to say their vows, tan me, and get the hell outta there.
If not, do the right thing.
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