Drug War

Jamaicans Turn Against Government

Public support weakening in battle against kingpin.

In the battle raging between Jamaica's government and notorious drug kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke, Jamaicans are increasingly taking the side of the criminal. Public support for the government is slackening as reports of the army killing unarmed men becomes known. Nearly 80 people have been killed in the effort to arrest Coke, and human rights groups say that the government's bloody tactics are backfiring. The excessive force "seriously undermine[s] any opportunity to bring about the change well-thinking Jamaicans yearn for," one human rights group said. The violence began when the government announced that it would extradite Coke to the U.S. If the government does seize Coke, it will have a second battle on its hands: winning over the Jamaican people. Said one government minister, "It is no secret that there has been a growing mistrust of the police and military over the years."