In a country fighting daily to keep its young men out of morgues and prisons, it is astonishing, and frankly offensive, to hear Tommy Descartes reduce the national trauma of crime to a cheap political slogan like “Gangster is yellow.”
This is not clever. This is not culture. This is not politics as usual.
This is the glorification of criminality, dressed in party colours.
When public figures trivialize gang identity and tie it to political branding, they send a dangerous message: that the violence ripping through our communities can be repackaged as entertainment, campaign banter, or a political meme. Meanwhile, Saint Lucians are burying sons, families are terrified, and communities are struggling under the weight of sustained gun violence.
What makes Descartes’ comment even worse is what happened next. He defended it, until he couldn’t. Only after Dr. Ernest Hilaire publicly called him out did Descartes finally admit he had crossed a line. Not conscience. Not responsibility. Not leadership. Pressure forced the admission. That’s not accountability, that’s damage control.
And sadly, this fiasco exposes a much deeper problem inside the United Workers Party. Former Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has repeatedly suggested that, if elected, his government could “work with” gang leaders, claiming these criminal networks have “done good” for Saint Lucia.
Let’s be clear: gangs have done nothing good for this country. They have robbed communities of peace, pulled teenagers into violence, fuelled a deadly underground economy, and weakened institutions trying desperately to restore safety. To paint these groups as contributors to national development is not bold, it is reckless, irresponsible, and morally indefensible.
Chastanet has gone further. He has been publicly displaying gang signs at UWP rallies, openly signalling support for these criminal networks and clarifying his willingness to work with them. When a political leader legitimizes gangs, they gain leverage. Leverage that criminals use to entrench themselves while the state struggles to contain them.
Saint Lucia cannot afford a political culture where gangsterism becomes a punch-line or a bargaining chip. We cannot allow leaders, or aspiring leaders, to flirt with lawlessness for political convenience. We cannot pretend this rhetoric is harmless. Words have consequences.
When politicians trivialize gangs, gangs feel untouchable. When they romanticize criminal figures, impressionable youth take notes. When they signal willingness to negotiate with criminals, criminals gain confidence.
Saint Lucia needs leadership grounded in integrity, responsibility, and unwavering respect for law and order. Anyone seeking power must speak with moral clarity about crime, not borrow its “cool factor,” not brand it in party colours, and certainly not court its leaders.
Tommy Descartes’ comment was reckless. Allen Chastanet’s stance is dangerous. Together, they reflect a troubling political posture: one that plays with fire while ordinary Saint Lucians get burned.
Saint Lucia deserves leadership that confronts crime without excuses, without theatrics, and without moral flexibility that invites criminality into political discourse. The country deserves better, and citizens must demand it.