Officials previously said that 44 civilians had died

Deputy Police Chief Glenmore Hinds says all the deaths have occurred as police raided the Tivoli Gardens stronghold of Christopher Coke. Officials previously said that 44 civilians had died.

Information Minister Daryl Vaz said Thursday that officials are trying to identify the victims and that the government will launch independent investigations into all police actions.

Vas has said it is unclear whether Coke is still in Jamaica.

The U.S. is seeking his extradition and called him one of the world’s most dangerous drug traffickers.

Coke, who helped the prime minister win elected office, may have fled the country. He had months to stockpile weapons in his slum stronghold while the premier wavered over U.S. demands for his extradition.

“I could not say if he is in Jamaica,” Information Minister Daryl Vaz said of Coke, who is known as “Dudus.” ”It’s very difficult to tell.”

Sporadic gunfire rang out elsewhere in West Kingston and security forces barred journalists from entering the battle zones around the capital on Jamaica’s south coast, far from the tourist resorts on the north shore of the Caribbean island.

The violence did not surprise island police and community groups who warned that Coke had been stockpiling weapons and preparing to defend himself since the U.S. demanded his extradition last August. According to the U.S. indictment, he has built a private arsenal of firearms smuggled in by gang members in the United States, sharing guns with other criminals to solidify his power as a major underworld boss.

“The situation at Tivoli is dreadful, but it’s been something that’s been simmering for 화성출장샵 a long, long time. And everybody knew that if they made the move for Coke that there would be trouble,” said Susan Goffe, spokeswoman for local human rights group Jamaicans for Justice.