It seems guns are a massive problem in the Caribbean. That's not overly surprising, really. There's a significant criminal population on most of the islands down that way and criminals want guns.

But where we run into a problem is in this report that puts the onus for the gun problem on the United States.

Of course, there are some...questionable choices in quotes here.

 Dozens of soldiers and police fanned out across a neighborhood on a recent night in the Turks & Caicos Islands just days after the archipelago reported a record 40 killings this year.

They were on the hunt for criminals and illegal weapons fueling a surge of violence across the Caribbean as authorities struggle to control a stream of firearms smuggled in from the U.S.

Half an hour into the Oct. 30 operation, one driver tried to run authorities off the road as he tossed a handgun into the bushes.

“Rest assured, we remain committed to disrupting the flow of illicit guns,” Police Superintendent Jason James said hours later.

But the flow is too strong, with illegal firearms blamed for an increase or a record number of killings in a growing number of Caribbean islands this year, including Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas.

No Caribbean nation manufactures firearms or ammunition or imports them on a large scale, but they account for half of the world’s top 10 highest national murder rates, according to a statement from U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Let's be real here, Chris Murphy is hardly an unbiased, trustworthy source for anything relating to guns. This same piece quotes New York Attorney General Letitia James.

But some things are missing from this discussion.

For the sake of argument, let's assume that the vast majority of the guns recovered are, in fact, traced to the United States. That doesn't illustrate anything, really.

First, what is the "time to crime" involved here? Were these new guns that were immediately exported to the Caribbean or were they guns purchased 10 or 15 years ago and only recently exported?

That's a key component of any discussion you want to have, but even then, we need to remember a couple of key facts. First, it's already illegal to export guns to another country without the permission of the State Department. 

Second, these are islands. There's no driving across the border with a load of firearms in your trunk. That means they're passing through controlled points of exit and entry.

What it sounds like to me is that there's an enforcement issue on both ends of the pipeline.

Moreover, with these being islands, they should have a much easier time keeping guns out of criminal hands than elsewhere. The fact that they can't seem to stop the flow of illegal firearms from coming into their countries is downright fascinating. 

"But if we tighten our gun laws-"

I'm going to stop you there. First, refer to my comments about time-to-crime. That matters, first and foremost, because my money is on most of these being stolen guns that are then shipped illegally to criminal factions in the Caribbean. Gun laws aren't going to stop that. Further, as noted, there are already gun laws in place to stop this and they're not working.

Fix the enforcement of illegal exports. Then, if you do, American guns won't end up in the Caribbean.

Further, even if we do cut off the supply, don't think for a moment that criminals there won't find another source. They most definitely will and we all know it, so knock it off.