FCO warns Brits as Kingston shoot-out claims lives

Monday, 26 May, 2010 0

Tourists travelling to Jamaica’s capital Kingston are being warned that a state of emergency now exists in certain areas of the city after gunfire broke out as authorities battled to hunt down a notorious drug baron.

The FCO is warning tourists not to stray into west Kingston, particularly Tivoli and Denham Town, and St Andrews where street violence and shootings have made the area a no-go zone.

So far there have been at least 31 deaths, many say all of whom are civilians, as fighters loyal to drug dealer (and some say Robin Hood figure) Christopher Coke take on police.

More than 200 people have been detained in an anti-drugs crackdown that has seen thousands of police and soldiers deployed to smoke out Coke.
 
However, most tourists to Jamaica are at least 100 miles away in the north of the island where there is no hint of the chaos of the capital.


 

profileimage

Bev

Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...