The illegal drug trade in The Bahamas involves trans-shipment of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

and marijuana through

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

to the United States. In 1982, a report entitled "The Bahamas: A Nation For Sale" by investigative television journalist Brian Ross was aired on NBC in the United States. The report claimed

Lynden Pindling Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, NH, KCMG, PC, JP (22 March 193026 August 2000) was a Bahamian politician who is regarded as the "Father of the Nation" of the Bahamas, having led it to majority rule on 10 January 1967 and to independence on 10 Ju ...

and his government accepted bribes from Colombian drug smugglers, particularly the notorious

Carlos Lehder Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas (born 7 September 1949) is a German-Colombian former drug lord who was co-founder of the Medellín Cartel. He was released from prison in the United States after 33 years in 2020. Born in Armenia, Colombia, Lehder ...

, co-founder of the

Medellín Cartel The Medellín Cartel ( es, Cartel de Medellín) was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered ...

, in exchange for allowing the smugglers to use the Bahamas as a

transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g ...

point to smuggle Colombian cocaine into the US. Through murder and extortion, Lehder had gained complete control over the

Norman's Cay Norman's Cay is a small Bahamian island (a few hundred hectares) in the Exumas, a chain of islands south and east of Nassau, that served as the headquarters for Carlos Lehder's drug smuggling operation from 1978 until around 1982. History Dru ...

Exuma Exuma is a district of The Bahamas, consisting of over 365 islands, also called cays. The largest of the cays is Great Exuma, which is 37 mi (60 km) in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma, by a small bridge. The capital ...

, which became the chief base for smuggling cocaine into the United States. Lehder boasted to the Colombian media about his involvement in drug trafficking at Norman's Cay and about giving hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs to the ruling Progressive Liberal Party, but Pindling vigorously denied the accusations, and made a testy appearance on NBC to rebut them. However, the public outcry led to the creation in 1984 to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Drug Trafficking and Government Corruption in the Bahamas. A review of Pindling's personal finances by the Commission found that he had spent eight times his reported total earnings from 1977 to 1984. According to the Inquiry: "The prime minister and Lady Pindling have received at least $57.3 million in cash. Explanations for some of these deposits were given... but could not be verified." As a result of the Inquiry, five government ministers either resigned or were dismissed.

Hurricane Dorian

On 1 September 2019,

Hurricane Dorian Hurricane Dorian was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, which became the most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the Bahamas, and tied for strongest landfall in the Atlantic basin. It is also rega ...

hit the Bahamas and caused an incredible amount of damage. Some places were unlivable and a great deal of basic resources were needed. Once the hurricane had passed and it was safe, US forces began to rescue Bahamians and bring them to the US so they could have food, water, habitation and medical relief. On 9 September 2019, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

halted the humanitarian evacuation of the Bahamians claiming "I don't want to allow people that weren't supposed to be in the Bahamas to come into the United States including some very bad people." Trump was referring drug dealers and gang members on the islands.

References

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

Crime in the Bahamas by type Drugs in the Bahamas

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Hurricane Dorian

See also

References