Drug Clashes Shoo Travelers Away from Jamaica’s Kingston

Thousands of tourists and business travelers were told to stay away from Jamaica’s capital Tuesday as bloody drug clashes blockaded Kingston airport and sparked travel warnings across the globe.

Washington was joined by a string of countries in Europe and Asia in urging its nationals to cancel all trips to the country, as battles between police and an alleged druglord’s henchmen turned part of Kingston into a war zone.

“The Department of State warns US citizens against travel to Kingston, Jamaica and its surrounding areas,” said a travel warning, as Washington halted non-essential embassy services in the city over the “deteriorating situation.”

Kingston was plunged into violence after Prime Minister Bruce Manning decided to act on a US request that Jamaica extradite accused drug lord Christopher “Dudus” Coke. Coke’s supporters stockpiled arms and set up barricades to fight back against the police, with three people killed in two days of fighting.

Explosions shook the area around the gangster stronghold on Monday, sending out thick plumes of smoke, and the Jamaican airwaves were full of desperate pleas from residents pinned inside buildings by gunfire.

The US advisory said access to Kingston international airport “has been blocked on an intermittent basis by gun battles between criminal elements and police,” and warned of a possibility the unrest could spread beyond Kingston.

Airlines Tuesday began cancelling flights to and from the troubled capital. Air Jamaica said it was calling off three flights from Kingston, two of them headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the other bound for New York, while American Airlines also called off services between Kingston and Miami.

Coke enjoys support among some Kingston residents who see him as a sort of local Robin Hood, helping impoverished Jamaicans. Thousands marched in support of him late last week.

But the US Justice Department has labeled him among the “world’s most dangerous narcotics kingpins,” accused of leading an international gang selling marijuana and crack cocaine in the New York area.

He was formally charged in the United States in August with conspiracy to traffic drugs and illegal weapons, and if convicted faces mandatory life imprisonment.