A three-year-old boy, his pregnant mother and father are among the latest victims of a wave of fatal shootings in the Turks and Caicos Islands – a British overseas territory which is seeing unprecedented drug-related violence.
The sole survivor, a seven-year-old girl who was in the car targeted on the island of Providenciales, was taken to hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds.
The Turks and Caicos Islands were previously one of the Caribbean’s safest islands, but violence has peaked in recent months, with 21 killings since 3 September.
Commissioner of police Trevor Botting described the triple murder on 1 November as a “vicious, barbaric act” by heartless criminals who “do not care about life”.
“The criminals involved are in the minority and we need to all work together to bring them to justice,” he said.
Governor Nigel Dakin, UK-appointed head of state since 2019, said it was “the darkest day” he had experienced in the TCI, adding that there is “no acceptable motive” for the attack.
The popular tourist destination welcomes more than 1.5 million visitors a year with about 80% of those hailing from the United States.
The archipelago of 40 islands markets itself as a safe, high-end vacation spot, with wealthy holidaymakers and A-list celebrities flocking to its five-star hotels and award-winning beaches.
But it has become a battle ground for warring crime groups seeking to dominate the local drug market, and due to its small population of about 45,000 people, the TCI is now set to have one of the highest murder rates in the region by the end of 2022.
Following a particularly bloody day in early October, when a US tourist and two others were killed, Botting blamed gangs with “no regard for life”.
“This violence, we know, is linked to drug supply and is fuelled by revenge, turf wars and retribution,” he further explained in a public address.
Governor Dakin said that a Jamaican crime faction was “attempting to remove all criminal competition in the territory”, adding “levels of targeted violence are unprecedented”.
In late September, TCI’s premier Washington Misick and the governor reached out to the UK government in a plea for urgent assistance.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which is responsible for the safety and security of the TCI, announced several supportive measures on 11 October.
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, said: “The UK has a moral and constitutional responsibility to support and protect the people of the overseas territories, who are a valued part of the UK family.”
The measures included the deployment of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker, RFA Tideforce, with a Wildcat helicopter for surveillance and security operation support.
The UK government is also working to recruit and fund a new serious crime team and is buying a permanent maritime surveillance aircraft to help secure the TCI’s borders.
Alongside this, a package of maritime surveillance support from the US was agreed, including a fixed-wing aircraft and a Blackhawk helicopter.
A detachment of 24 specialist firearms officers from the Bahamas are now on active duty in the TCI, and discussions are ongoing with other neighbouring states for additional support.
Locally, the premier announced that the TCI government is allocating an additional $4m for the police force, and $2m to install and run CCTV in hotspots.
The Royal TCI Police Force – bolstered by additional specialist equipment and an attack and search dog unit – has run targeted operations in threatened communities.
In October, the TCI House of Assembly passed several laws to tackle gangs including increased sentences for possession of illegal firearms and for threatening law enforcement.
While the local and international measures seem to have led to a lull in violent crime in mid-October, the homicides have since continued: six people have been murdered since 26 October.
Despite calls for further support, the governor on 11 October said he had no plans to “put British troops onto the ‘so called’ streets”.
However, he said there is a contingency plan for additional specialist firearms police support if needed.
In a message to the House of Assembly earlier that day he rejected calls from opposition leader Edwin Astwood to resign.
“The ‘level of crime’ is not a metric that on its own, I would resign over,” he said. “This metric may indeed be a reason to work ever harder, but not to give up.”
In a statement on 1 November, premier Misick reassured: “The situation may feel dire, but we have a strong, capable team that is making great strides to end this dark chapter.”
He added: “I have no doubt that we will return to the peaceful normalcy to which we are all accustomed.”
The TCI has had to recover from a series of blows over the past few years including physical damage from a string of hurricanes and reputational damage from allegations that it is a leading tax haven.