Ammunition was found in the luggage of tourists in the British overseas territory of Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. Strict gun laws apply there. The five people from the USA could be behind bars for a long time.
Most recently, a U.S. delegation of congressmen and government officials traveled to the islands north of the Dominican Republic and Haiti to negotiate the release. However, Governor Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam and Prime Minister Washington Misick insisted that they had no influence on the independent judiciary. The governor’s office announced this on Facebook on Monday evening (local time). US officials threatened sanctions.
Minimum prison sentence of twelve years and a fine
The Turks and Caicos Islands, with a population of over 45,000, are known as a vacation destination for US tourists and as an offshore tax haven. A strict law was introduced in the area in 2022 to protect against gang violence.
“The Attorney General has confirmed that possession of firearms and/or ammunition is punishable by a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 12 years plus a fine,” the statement continued. “If the court finds that there are exceptional circumstances, the judge is free under the law to impose a prison sentence and a fine that is proportionate and fair to the circumstances of the individual case, rather than imposing the mandatory minimum.”
Tourists say they forgot cartridges
The tourists live in US states where gun ownership is legal. They say they forgot the cartridges in their pockets. The cases are independent of each other. A man had visited the islands with his wife and friends for a birthday party. He had previously been on a hunt. Another woman was on vacation with her daughter for Mother’s Day.
US Senator Markwayne Mullin from Oklahoma criticized the judicial system’s actions. The US citizens had not acted in bad faith. “If they are sentenced to prison, we will have to consider additional measures to protect American citizens,” Mullin told the British newspaper “Telegraph”. The British Foreign Office, whose representative also attended the meeting, did not want to comment on the cases or intervene in an ongoing legal case. London has full confidence in the courts of the Turks and Caicos Islands, it said.