30 Dead in Assault on Slums

The war on drugs raged on in Jamaica, where officials placed the number of dead at 30 in an assault to find the drug lord Christopher “Dudus” Coke. Long famous for gang violence, Jamaica’s slums have been under siege since Prime Minister Bruce Golding agreed to extradite Coke to the U.S., where he could face up to life in prison. Masked gunmen loyal to Coke began organizing against police in several slums throughout the country, with most of the fighting concentrated in West Kingston, but the violence has not yet spread to the wealthier, tourist-heavy areas. Gang members lined up barbed wire and junked cars to barricade police out, and details have yet to emerge on what exactly is going on inside the slums. The rest of Kingston became a ghost town, with schools, hospitals and businesses closed.