Jamaican Organized Crime After The Fall of Dudus Coke

This article examines how Jamaican organized crime has reshaped after the so-called “Dudus affair,” which shook Jamaica’s political system as one of the country’s bloodiest confrontations since its 1962 independence. It looks at how Jamaican politicians, seeing the threat Coke posed, have tried to back away from their long-standing relationship with gang leaders. It finds that Coke’s fall has left a power vacuum within Jamaican ghettoes that other contenders are trying to fill.  Jamaican traffickers from the Shower Posse and other gangs have morphed into more fragmented groups to stay off the radar of law enforcement. These smaller cells have been effective at trafficking cocaine, helping the Caribbean regain its foothold as a major smuggling corridor from Colombia to the United States.

Following the “Dudus affair,” Jamaican traffickers have splintered into smaller groups to avoid detection and conspiracy charges. These groups have been effective at smuggling, and the Caribbean has become more important as a corridor for cocaine heading to the United States. The loss of Coke, however, has left a power vacuum in certain Jamaican ghettoes. A new strongman may arise to fill this space unless the fundamental causes of crime and violence in these areas are resolved

Jamaican politicians appear to have learned from this confrontation and backed away from their historic links to criminal gangs in the last three years. Nevertheless, these links have deep roots, and it remains to be seen whether Jamaican politicians avoid turning back to gang leaders to deliver them votes in the future.

http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/jamaican-organized-crime-after-the-fall-of-dudus-coke