Jamaican Posse

Jamaican posse is the name that is collectively used to refer to different coalitions of Jamaican nationals involved in illegal gang activities in the United States as well as other regions in the world. In the 1980s various Jamaican posse groups [Page 405]became increasingly and notoriously popular among law enforcement agents in the United States for their involvement in organized criminal activities. Known for their impenetrable criminal networks, sophisticated criminal techniques, and international illegal involvements, the Jamaican posses added a new dimension to the race and crime nexus in the United States. This entry presents information on the criminal enterprise of Jamaican posse groups and illustrates the impact these culturally diverse groups of immigrants have on race, crime, and ethnicity issues in the United States. Details on the origins and Jamaican roots of posse members, their formidable presence in the United States, their multiple and ingenious illegal involvements, and their eventual arrest and prosecution by law enforcement agents are presented.

Jamaican posses have been intricately linked to political parties and politically established communities in Jamaica. In fact, the names used to identify some Jamaican posse groups are names of politically segregated communities in Jamaica. Nevertheless, the direct connections and influential affiliations between U.S.-based posse groups and political parties in Jamaica have been debated. Some researchers believe that although posse members originally had strong ties to political parties in Jamaica, their political loyalties and affiliations with these parties diminished over time as they became more settled and concentrated in various parts of the United States. Conversely, others have claimed that their political and social ties to Jamaica remained strong, and profits made from drug sales and other illegal activities in the United States were used to financially support the two dominant political parties and home communities of posse members.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, political civil unrest and escalating violence, along with dire economic hardships in Jamaican communities, led to the migration of thousands of Jamaicans to the United States. Once in the United States, the Jamaican posses created and established extensive drug and criminal networks. Posse members were at first heavily involved in the sale and distribution of marijuana, and they competed with other posse groups over the control and statewide distribution of the drug. Although each Jamaican posse had its designated leaders in different urban and suburban jurisdictions, the major posse groups were predominately situated in Jamaican communities in Miami and New York. Two well-known and established Jamaican posse groups in the United States are the Spanglers posse and the Shower posse. Many of their early drug operations went undetected by law enforcement agents and involved minor violent incidents. In time, this changed as the Jamaican posse groups turned their attention to the sale and distribution of crack cocaine, which was not only in high demand at that time but also more profitable than marijuana.

By the mid-1980s Jamaican posses became some of the most organized and lethal drug gangs in the United States. At this time, their criminal networks and organized criminal involvements had grown exponentially and internationally to include other illegal activities, such as the production of fraudulent immigration documents, money laundering, and firearms trafficking. It is estimated that hundreds of Jamaican immigrants had joined different posses and were actively involved in the local and international drug trade in the United States, England, Jamaica, and other Caribbean countries. It is believed that the Jamaican posses were responsible for hundreds of murders, largely within immigrant communities. Posse groups were further involved in interstate and international transshipment of large quantities of high-powered guns that were used in killings in the United States and Jamaica. Jamaican posses were found to be actively operating in at least 11 cities in the United States.

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