Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is currently on holiday in Jamaica amid a state of emergency in the Caribbean nation that was declared earlier this month due to increased gang violence.
The December 6 state of emergency, restored on December 28, applies to the capital, Kingston, as well as 7 of Jamaica’s 14 parishes, including popular tourist destinations such as Montego Bay.
Trudeau is expected to spend a week in Jamaica with his family starting December 26. Their exact location has not been revealed.
In effect until January 11, the state of emergency allows authorities to conduct arrests and searches of buildings without a warrant. An island of 2.8 million people, Jamaica has reported more than 1,400 homicides this year, far exceeding the 1,375 recorded in 2021. Most have been blamed on ice-related activity. party.
The Government of Canada is urging Canadians to “exercise extreme caution” while in Jamaica.
“If you are traveling in the affected areas, you may be searched by security forces,” the government warned in a December 28 update on its travel website. “Always cooperate with military and police officers.”
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this month, the PMO said that Trudeau would stay in regular contact with Ottawa throughout the trip, which was approved with the federal ethics commissioner.
Trudeau was previously found to have violated conflict of interest rules following a 2016 vacation to Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas.
For security reasons, all of the prime minister’s flights use Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft.
Flights for his family’s 2019 Christmas break to Costa Rica cost the government about $57,000, plus thousands more for crew vacations.
With files from the Associated Press and The Canadian Press
