UK to send specialist assistance to Turks and Caicos Islands after spate of fatal shootings

The UK is providing specialised assistance to the Turks and Caicos Islands in response to a recent increase in fatal shootings within the Caribbean archipelago, after four men were found dead from gunshot wounds on Providenciales Island between January and February, and two more were killed in January alone.

The increase marks the second instance of a heightened homicide rate in the British overseas territory within a span of less than two years, following a previous episode where 21 individuals lost their lives over a two-month period in 2022. Although initial reports linked these deaths to clashes between rival gangs vying for control over the local drug trade, law enforcement authorities have yet to establish a definitive motive for the latest incidents.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which is responsible for the islands’ internal security, stepped in in November 2022 to offer extensive support, reported The Guardian.

David Rutley, the UK parliamentary under-secretary of state (Americas and Caribbean), has said the office is working with the TCI’s governor and premier to provide more help. He posted on X: "The UK stands with the Turks and Caicos Islands in the fight against crime."

According to TCI’s UK-appointed governor, Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, the FCDO’s 14-member “rapid deployment package” includes a police firearms team and criminal investigators. She said: “It is also critical we build our strategic intelligence-led operations, and therefore the deployment also includes a firearms operations planner, and a criminal and intelligence analyst.

“These individuals will expand our capabilities greatly to target our resources against the criminal networks,” she added during a live broadcast on the weekend." Daniel-Selvaratnam said the UK team would be deployed within the week, adding that the TCI is “actively pursuing” additional tactical support from partners in the Caribbean region.

Washington Misick, TCI’s premier, who also spoke in the broadcast, condemned the “reckless acts” and offered his condolences to “the family and friends who are suffering”. He said of the territory’s 46,000 resident population: "This is not the people that we are. This scourge of violence robs our youths of their future and ruins lives.

"This is not a reflection of the values of the good people of this country and we will not accept it as normal.” Edwin Astwood, leader of the official opposition party – the People’s Democratic Movement – called the recent murders “a tremendous calamity”.