turks and caicos, a tourist haven, now leads the caribbean in homicides

gang violence, u.s. gun trafficking, and weak policing have pushed this small british territory to the top of the region’s homicide rankings.

Once known for luxury resorts and tranquil beaches, the Turks and Caicos Islands now top a far grimmer list. In 2024, they recorded Latin America and the Caribbean’s highest per capita homicide rate: 103.1 murders per 100,000 people. The figure surpasses even Jamaica and Haiti, long considered the region’s most violent countries.

An aerial view of Grace Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos’ premier tourist hub, where rising gang violence has drawn new travel advisories and security concerns, even as luxury resorts remain busy.

With a population under 50,000, per capita rates can spike easily. But officials and analysts agree: this surge is not a statistical outlier. It reflects a sustained and worsening crisis driven by organized crime, foreign weapons, and overstretched law enforcement.

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a turf war on island time

Police estimate that 19 gangs operate across the territory, with around 220 active members, a number proportionally equivalent to several thousand in a midsize U.S. city.