Trinidad and Tobago: Nearly Three in Four Traced Crime Guns Came Through the US

Nearly three-quarters of the traced crime guns in Trinidad and Tobago in 2025 originated from the United States, according to recent analysis. The Trinidad Guardian reviewed six years of US trace data, which showed that 204 out of 279 guns, or 73.1%, were traced to US-sourced firearms. This trend has been increasing, with just 52% of guns traced in 2020 originating from the US.

Over the six-year period, 62.8% of traced guns came from the US market, comprising 1,116 out of 1,777 guns. The classification includes both US-made guns and legally imported foreign-made guns. In 2025, the US-sourced guns were a mix of 104 made in the US and 100 imported. The remaining guns were traced to 17 rifles, eight shotguns, and eight other firearms.

The ATF was only able to identify the first retail buyer for 72 of the US-sourced guns, while another 32 were traced to foreign entities. The remaining 100 had undetermined first purchasers. The ATF notes that incomplete records and missing details contribute to this uncertainty. Tracing is not a random sample as not every crime gun is submitted for tracing.

In 2018-2024, 82.5% of 3,723 murders in Trinidad and Tobago involved firearms, according to a 2026 study. Police seized an increasing number of firearms from 1,064 in 2017 to 656 in 2024, though this does not necessarily reflect fewer illegal guns. The average price of a black-market gun in Trinidad and Tobago is about US$2,586.

The TTPS recorded 265 homicides from January to September 2026, a decrease from 275 in the same period a year earlier and 475 in 2024. Deputy Commissioner of Police Junior Benjamin highlighted that tracing helps police understand how guns enter the country, and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar expressed the country's intention to push for stronger tracing at the UN Security Council.