A regional security agency has raised concerns over what it describes as the dangerous shift towards high-powered, military-grade arms in the region.
Assistant Director for Policy, Innovation, and Strategy at CARICOM IMPACS, Callixtus Joseph, says traffickers are prioritising the supply of AK and AR rifles, and in some cases, .50 caliber weapons.
These weapons, he explains, are trafficked via maritime and land routes originating outside of the Caribbean.
In a meeting with the UN Security Council on Small Arms Control and Weapons Management, Mr. Joseph highlighted that a central driver of instability in Haiti, for example, is the widespread availability and illicit trafficking of weapons.
He added that efforts are ongoing, alongside partners, to strengthen weapons and ammunition management practices across the Caribbean.