the prefect prohibits the sale or possession of several categories of weapons

The prefect of Guadeloupe has banned by order several categories of weapons in the Caribbean archipelago, faced with an increase in armed crime, Friday, May 19.

Weapons of category C3 (non-lethal handguns) and D (historical, collectible, etc.) are prohibited “for sale, possession” and at “port or transport”, says a press release. The decree aims to combat “circulation of weapons, to prevent category D weapons from being transformed into lethal weapons or used to commit armed robbery”continues the prefecture.

This temporary measure comes in response to the increase in armed robbery observed on the ground by the police. “Since the beginning of 2023, the national police of Guadeloupe have seized 90 weapons and more than 12,000 ammunition”quantified the services of the prefecture. “In 2022, 137 weapons were seized”they add.

The gendarmerie of the islands of Guadeloupe noted at the end of April “112 weapons seized since the beginning of the year” for Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy. The prefect also prohibited, until the end of May, “undeclared boat party” after a 20-year-old was shot and killed in such an event earlier this month.