Violence in Guadeloupe: 52 murders in 2025, homicide rate nine times higher than national level
In Guadeloupe, 52 homicides were recorded in 2025, with 40,000 weapons in circulation. Franceinfo.fr paints an alarming picture of normalised violence.
Guadeloupe: military weapons, armed minors and robberies on the rise
Franceinfo.fr travelled to Guadeloupe to document an unprecedented surge in violence in the archipelago: 40,000 weapons in circulation, equivalent to one for every ten residents, and a homicide rate nearly nine times higher than the national average. Only French Guiana shows a worse record.
With 52 deaths in 2025 — an average of one per week — the Antilles are facing a record level of homicides, linked to drug trafficking, but also to armed robberies, domestic violence, romantic rivalries, or disputes as trivial as a badly parked car or an exchange of glances.
A mother still awaits justice
Among the victims is Kimaël, 16 years old, stabbed a year ago in the centre of Pointe-à-Pitre, on the margins of the carnival. His mother, Brigitte Ouikede, met in Les Abymes — the municipality that accounts for a third of the island's homicides — describes a deliberate and relentless attack. "It was my son they were targeting," she says. "There were five or six of them. They threw themselves at him. He crawled and they chased him. They wanted to finish off my son."
The investigation is still ongoing. The suspects identified by Brigitte are young people aged 14 to 19, still at large. "I will never be able to grieve," she says, "until I hear that these guys have been arrested." Nevertheless, she calls for an end to the violence, without demanding vengeance: "Justice must be done as it should be."
Thirteen-year-old minors as suspects and victims
The growing involvement of minors is one of the most striking aspects noted by franceinfo.fr. In 2025, the youngest suspect and the youngest victim were both 13 years old.
Caroline Calbo, prosecutor in Pointe-à-Pitre, describes a youth court that sits every Tuesday and regularly extends from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. "Very young minors between 13 and 17 years old are tried, notably those who have committed armed robberies," she explains. "There are also many of them who are armed, who do not hesitate to use their weapons."
She cites the case of a teenager who killed his schoolmate whilst handling a weapon, as well as a 13-year-old boy involved in weapons trafficking. "We have many 13 to 17-year-olds, perpetrators of robberies, but also of attempted murders."
On 27 May 2025, a public holiday commemorating the abolition of slavery, three homicides were committed in a single day.
Hospital staff trained in combat medicine
Attempted homicides have doubled in two years, reaching 225 in 2025. This development has forced staff at Pointe-à-Pitre University Hospital to train in combat medicine techniques.
Patrick Portecop, head of the emergency services at the hospital, traces the escalation of injuries observed over decades. "In the 1990s, we mainly had victims of hunting weapons that caused superficial wounds rarely fatal," he recalls. The appearance of 9-millimetre pistols initially increased the casualty toll. Since the introduction of military weapons, patients present "sometimes with multiple wounds to the chest, abdomen and head. These are often fatal wounds, and when they are not, they are responsible for serious trauma and disability."
Weapons imported from Haiti and Dominica
These weapons arrive mainly from Haiti, then from Dominica, transported on fishing boats. Pistols of American or Brazilian origin sell for between 1,000 and 3,000 euros; assault rifles are exchanged for around 5,000 euros. These weapons exert a fascination on young people often without employment, exposed to ultra-violent series and gangsta rap.
BRACO operations on the ground every week
Franceinfo.fr followed gendarmes from the PIGR — the Republican Guard Intervention Unit — a heavily armed unit that operates in pick-up trucks in sensitive neighbourhoods. During a briefing before a nighttime operation, sergeant Matthieu warns his teams: "Do not forget that there is a lot of weaponry in circulation in Guadeloupe. The person we are targeting is very often armed."
That evening, the target — a man wanted for robbery — was not at his home. However, operations of this type take place at least once a week, as part of BRACO, the Anti-Weapons and Organised Crime Task Force. Its chief, captain Marine Huchet, sums up the modus operandi of the perpetrators: "These are teams of two, three, or even four individuals who threaten their victims with weapons, trying to take from them either their jewellery, or their telephone, or their cash."
"It is like going to steal sweets from the baker," she adds. "We are in a completely uninhibited use and a normalisation of death."
More than 500 armed robberies in 2025
The increase in robberies is explained in particular by the surge in the price of gold, which fuels desires for jewellery. In 2025, more than 500 armed robberies were recorded in Guadeloupe — that is more than one per day. A rate which illustrates, according to local authorities, the magnitude of the security challenge facing the archipelago.
Source: Google News GP — Crime