Gunfire, firebombs and Civil Unrest; Jamaica definitely has a reputation as an interesting place to visit but recently the level of excitement has been ratcheted up a couple of notches. Well, that statement isn’t entirely true as most of the trouble is based in Kingston which has been a hotbed for civil unrest for many years.
This past weekend the U.S., Canada and Britain issued travel alerts warning tourists of the situation in Jamaica. In fact, as of now even the locals are avoiding downtown Kingston. The good news is that Kingston isn’t a port that cruise ships visit. Ocho Rios and Montego Bay are the stops typically visited on a cruise to Jamaica and neither of those is being affected by the violence. As of now the cruise lines haven’t changed anything with how they are going about their business, which really is a good thing. Ocho Rios is located about 52 miles away from Kingston with Montego Bay being about 112 miles away. To the best of my knowledge excursions don’t typically go anywhere near Kingston so once again this is no issue.
This newest batch of rioting has been fueled by the U.S. seeking the extradition of a Jamaican drug lord. It seems as if supporters of Christopher “Dudus” Coke (with a last name like it could be argued that he didn’t necessarily choose that profession) don’t plan on giving their leader up without a fight. Apparently they have turned their neighborhood into a fortress and firebombed a nearby police station.
If you would like to read more about what’s going on is Jamaica here are a couple of links that go further into the story click here or click here.
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