Jamaican forces raided the stronghold of an alleged drug lord wanted by the US, sparking battles with gangsters that left three people dead and turned part of Kingston into a war zone.
Several men were arrested after troops and police raided the impoverished neighborhood of the capital where Christopher “Dudus” Coke is based, but Coke was not among them, Jamaican National Security Minster Dwight Nelson said late on Monday.
“Reports up to an hour ago is that the law enforcement did not apprehend him,” Nelson said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
One soldier was killed when security forces plunged into the Tivoli Gardens area on Monday, breaking through barricades erected by supporters of Coke, whom authorities want to extradite to the US.
Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding was scheduled to address the House of Representatives yesterday to update them on the situation, officials said, two days after his government declared a state of emergency amid the worst internal unrest for years.
Explosions shook the area on Monday sending out thick plumes of smoke, a day after two policeman were killed and two members of the security forces sustained injuries.
Nelson said on national TV that he had received unconfirmed reports of several civilian deaths and the airwaves were full of desperate pleas from residents pinned inside buildings by gunfire.
“Somebody please come help we, somebody please come help we,” one woman begged on local radio.
The ruling Jamaica Labour Party tried to reassure citizens, saying the raids were “inescapable and unavoidable.”
“We hope that out of the national crisis there will come a rebirth of Jamaica, the land we love,” it said.
Police advised people to remain indoors in Kingston, where power was cut off overnight, describing the threat level as “grave.”
“You must realize, we are fighting a war,” Deputy Police Commissioner Glenmore Hinds said as blood banks sought emergency donations.
Coke enjoys support among some Kingston residents who see him as a sort of local Robin Hood, helping impoverished Jamaicans. Thousands marched in support of him late last week.
But the US Department of Justice has labeled him among the “world’s most dangerous narcotics kingpins.”
He is accused of leading since the 1990s an international gang known as “The Shower Posse,” which US prosecutors say sells marijuana and crack cocaine in the New York area and elsewhere.
He was formally charged in the US in August with conspiracy to traffic drugs and illegal weapons, and if convicted faces mandatory life imprisonment.
The head of the Organization of the Americas, Jose Miguel Insulza, said the situation in Jamaica was “worrying” and stressed the regional body “backs with all our force the Jamaican government.”
The US embassy suspended non-essential services because of the “deteriorating situation” in Jamaica, while some other countries have advised against travel to Kingston and several airlines cancelled flights.
Hopes for a resolution rose after a lawyer for Coke said he had scheduled a meeting with the US embassy before a spokeswoman for the mission said she was not aware of any planned meeting.
Police Commissioner Owen Ellington urged his force to respond to the “calculated, vile and cold actions” against them.
“Do not hesitate to respond quickly and take decisive action when attacked by these criminals as it is now patently clear that they are hell bent on causing mayhem in the society,” Ellington said.
Jamaica has long been a transit point for drug trafficking.
The US had in the past hailed the government’s response but more recently, the State Department has more recently questioned whether Coke was being protected by ties to the Jamaica Labor Party.
Coke’s Tivoli Gardens area is Golding’s district and the had premier initially hesitated approving Coke’s extradition before declaring an emergency and vowing to pursue the kingpin.
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