Jamaica Ready for Rumble Over Drug Lord's Extradition

Jamaica has caved to US pressure to extradite alleged drug kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke to New York, but it'll have to drag him out of his stronghold in the capital to do so. Gunmen, who have set up barricades blocking all entrances to Kingston's Tivoli Gardens neighborhood and vowed to defend the man they call "the president," opened fire on soldiers in the area yesterday and the city is braced for a wave of violence, the Jamaica Gleaner reports.

Coke, wanted in the US for drug trafficking and gun-running, is believed to be holed up in the capital, although his lawyers insist that the only fighting he plans to do is in the courts. Tension has been building in Kingston since Jamaican PM Bruce Golding—whose party has close ties to Coke—agreed this week to stop blocking the extradition process. Police have obtained a warrant for Coke's arrest and Jamaica's military has called up its reserves.
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