| 2010 Kingston conflict | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Jamaica: | Shower Posse drug cartel | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Bruce Golding | Christopher Coke | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1000+ JDF soldiers comprising elements of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions, over 300 police officers. | 500+ gunmen (est.) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 20; 3 police officers killed, 1 JDF soldier killed, 12 JDF soldiers and 2 police officers injured. | 100+; at least 50 killed (estimated) and several dozens injured | ||||||
| over 60 civilians (some possibly Shower Posse gunmen) killed and injured | |||||||
The 2010 Kingston unrest was an armed conflict between the Shower Posse drug cartel and Jamaica's military in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. The conflict begun on the 23 May 2010 as the Jamican police attempted to hunt for major drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke, after the United States requested his extradition,[1] and the leader of the criminal gang that attacked several police stations. The violence, which largely took place over 24-25 May, killed at least 73 civilians[2] and wounded at least 35 others.[3][4] Four soldiers/police were also killed[3] and more than 500 arrests were made,[3] as Jamaican police and soldiers fought gunmen in the Tivoli Gardens district of Kingston.
Much of the unrest happened in the constituency belonging to the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, who said he was "taken aback" by its scale.[3] Golding has been described by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) as a "known criminal affiliate" of Coke, which Golding refuted as "extremely offensive".[5] Although the U.S. government considered Golding one of Coke's associates, it said it supported the Jamaican government's attempt to capture Coke.[6]
When prompted as to his whereabouts three days after the mission was launched, police stated they did not know where Coke was.[7] Coke was eventually captured on 23 June, after initial rumours that Coke was attempting to surrender to the United States. Kingston police arrested Coke on the outskirts of the city, apparently while a local reverend, Reverend Al Miller, was helping negotiate his surrender to the United States Embassy.[8][9]
Contents |
The unrest started on 23 May 2010, when gangsters assaulted four police stations in southwestern Kingston and managed to loot and partially burn out one of the stations.[4][10]
Afterwards some 1,000 police and soldiers assaulted a public housing complex occupied by heavily armed gangsters defending Christopher "Dudus" Coke, considered one of the world's most dangerous drug lords,[11] who has been indicted in the United States on drug and arms trafficking charges. Cartel gunmen swarmed through West Kingston, battling police and soldiers, and trapping civilians in their homes.
Coke has a heroic reputation in Kingston's slums. He has been likened to Robin Hood because he has helped the community by handing out food, sending children to school and building medical centers.
On the night of 24/25 May 2010, the Jamaican government declared a state of emergency in the capital Kingston and in the parish of St Andrew to last for one month [12] while gunmen were pursued by the security services.[13][14][15] May 24, 2010 was also a public holiday (Labour Day), which can be noted in Jamaican history as one of the most unproductive and bloodiest since the time of its inception.
Security forces broke through barbed-wire barricades and fought their way into the warren-like Tivoli Gardens neighborhood well into 24 May. While fighting raged in Tivoli Gardens, gun battles spread to other volatile slums close to Kingston.[11]
Tivoli was heavily fortified by gangsters in preparation for the inevitable onslaught by the security forces. Molotov cocktail "factories" as well as storage dumps for ammunition were created in various sections of the community to provide quick supply to the gunmen besieging Tivoli.
Electrified barbed wires were used to block the main entrance to the community along with old burnt out cars and sharp metal scraps and cement. These barriers were further fortified by the use of IEDs made from cooking gas cylinders armed with electronically detonated fuses. Manholes were uncovered and filled with spikes and the roads were lined with hidden IEDs made from somatol explosives.
Recon operations by JDF helicopters showed well organised roadblocks made of sandbags manned by 3-4 men armed with AK-47 and Molotov cocktails. Snipers were also stationed on the roof to take out as much of the law men as possible before they can start disassembling the barriers.
According to Colonel Rocky Meade the level of defensive work was becoming of a very well organised militia. Ground report suggested that it took the soldiers 2 hours to advance a distance of 200 metres at the start of the operation, a distance that usually takes 5 minutes.
A surveillance aircraft was seen flying over Kingston on 24 May, bearing identifying marks that belonged to the United States Department of Homeland Security.[16] The aircraft took live video of Tivoli Gardens, which was given to Jamaican ground forces via U.S. law enforcement officers.[16] The aircraft was identified as a Lockheed P-3 Orion.[16] The Jamaican government denied the presence of the aircraft.[17] The denials were repeated by National Security Minister Dwight Nelson after The New Yorker published an article on the raids in Tivoli Gardens.[18] Prime minister Andrew Holness later admitted that an aircraft from the United States had been involved in gathering information in the raids.[19]
On 26 May, police stated that they had more than 500 people in custody.[5] The civilian death toll was raised to 44.[5]
An independent assessment team said there were "appalling conditions" to be seen in Tivoli Gardens as people were stuck in houses.[3] Lack of food, running water and a surplus of visible bodily waste were reportedly problems faced by many,[3] while dozens of children and toddlers were lost in Rasta City with one wounded woman losing her 18-month-old son on the way to hospital.[3] Corpses belonging to young men under the age of 30 were said to be lining the morgue.[3] Prime Minister Golding said: "The government deeply regrets the loss of lives, especially those of members of the security forces and innocent, law-abiding citizens caught in the crossfire."[20]
Journalists were ordered to "keep back" by the military[3] while buildings were burnt by cartel gunmen, and looting occurred.[21][22]
On 27 May, police said they had located the corpses of 73 civilians.[2]
Journalists were permitted to view Tivoli Gardens for the first time since the unrest began, meeting soldiers who described the "ongoing operation" and residents who said "an atrocity took place [...] they are not showing you the homes which have bodies and a lot of blood".
However, independent observers, such as Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair and Public Defender Earl Witter, who visited the community expressed satisfaction with conditions. Residents were also quick to praise the conduct of soldiers.[23] Violence flared there after authorities tried to arrest Coke, who was charged last year in U.S. federal court with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine and with conspiracy to illegally traffic in firearms. Authorities in Jamaica sought to arrest him after federal prosecutors in New York sought his extradition, but his supporters attacked police stations in response.
Coke was captured on June 22, 2010 by Jamaican police near the outskirts of Kingston. There were no violence reported during the arrest.
Several airlines cancelled flights to and from Kingston after foreign governments issued emergency warnings against travel to the city.[24] Canadians were told not to travel to Kingston unless essential.[25]
The fifth one-dayer cricket match and first Test cricket match between West Indies and South Africa were transferred to Trinidad due to security fears.[26][27][28]
On 27 May 2010, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called for an impartial inquiry into the unrest.[29] Amnesty International and Jamaica's third party have echoed these sentiments.[23]