An English-speaking Caribbean nation with a population of about 2.8 million, Jamaica has had a relatively stable parliamentary political system stemming from its history of British colonial rule, even though extensive political violence often marred national elections in the 1970s and 1980s. Two political parties—the People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) have dominated the political system since before the country's 1962 independence. In the 1970s and 1980s, the two parties had distinct ideological differences, with the PNP under Michael Manley (1972-1980) espousing democratic socialism and increasing state ownership of the economy, and the JLP under Edward Seaga (1980-1989) adopting a policy of economic liberalization and privatization. When Michael Manley returned to power in 1989, however, his PNP government did not roll back the JLP's pro-business polices, but instead adopted a similar approach. Since that time, there have been few ideological differences between the two parties. Percival J. "P.J." Patterson of the PNP, who took over as Prime Minister when Manley resigned in 1992 for health reasons, won three elections and served as head of government until his retirement in March 2006. He was replaced by Portia Simpson Miller of the PNP, who became Jamaica's first female Prime Minister. PNP rule under P.J. Patterson and later Simpson was characterized by a policy orientation of market liberalization, support for the private sector, and close ties with the United States. While Prime Minister Simpson had the support of rank-and-file PNP supporters, she only narrowly won a party leadership contest in 2007 over Minister of National Security Peter Phillips who had the support of party leaders. The PNP's 18-year stretch of governing ultimately ended in September 2007, when the JLP, headed by Bruce Golding as party leader, returned to power. One of the contributing factors to the change of government was that Prime Minister Simpson's government faced growing public dissatisfaction with increasing crime and violence. The JLP currently holds a narrow margin, 32 of 60 seats, in Jamaica's House of Representatives, the lower body in the country's bicameral parliament, while the PNP holds the remaining 28. The JLP ran on an anti-crime and anti-corruption platform, but the Golding government has continued to face challenges in both areas. In late May 2010, Jamaica's stability was challenged after the government of Prime Minister Golding agreed to extradite to the United States an at-large alleged drug kingpin, Christopher "Dudas" Coke, the reputed leader of the Shower Posse. The United States had originally requested Coke's extradition in August 2009, after a federal grand jury in New York had indicted him for narcotics and arms trafficking. Prime Minister Golding denied the request, with his government maintaining that evidence gained from wiretapping had been obtained illegally. There was increasing U.S. pressure in 2010 to extradite Coke, with the State Department's March 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) stating that the Jamaican government's delays in extraditing Coke and others called into question the country's commitment to law enforcement cooperation with the United States. The report also maintained that the delay in extraditing Coke highlighted the "potential depth of corruption in the government" because of Coke's reported ties with the ruling party. At around the same time, reports surfaced that Prime Minister Golding had hired a U.S. lobbying firm (Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips) to lobby on behalf of the government of Jamaica to convince the United State not to seek the extradition of Coke. Golding subsequently confirmed in mid-May 2010 that he had approved the hiring of the lobbyists, not in his capacity as prime minister, but as leader of the JLP. It appears that the political fallout of this admission was a factor that led Golding to reverse course and issue the arrest warrant for Coke. In response, Coke's followers in the West Kingston neighborhood of Tivoli Gardens attacked several police stations on May 23. The Jamaican government responded by issuing a state of emergency in portions of the capital and deploying police and soldiers to West Kingston seeking to execute a warrant for Coke, whose armed supporters erected barricades and roadblocks to battle the security forces. In the ensuing violence over the next several days, 76 people were killed, including two policemen and a soldier. Security forces ultimately secured the areas of West Kingston by late May, but human rights organizations called for the government to conduct a thorough investigation regarding the deaths and determine whether the use of force was appropriate. Coke eluded capture until June 22, 2010, when he was arrested by police after his vehicle was stopped at a checkpoint. An evangelical preacher who was with Coke when he was captured maintained that the two were on their way to the U.S. Embassy as Coke had decided to turn himself over to U.S. authorities. Coke subsequently was extradited to the United States on June 24 and arraigned in U.S. Federal District Court in New York on June 25 for running a large marijuana and crack cocaine drug ring from Jamaica. Golding's admission to hiring the U.S. lobbying firm prompted considerable public criticism and calls for his resignation. The Prime Minister was also criticized for his handling of police operations and the extent of killings in the attempt to capture Coke. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on June 1, by a vote of 30-28. The political fallout from the Coke extradition case and police operations will likely continue to pose challenges for the Golding government, especially as it implements fiscal austerity measures agreed to under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) stand-by arrangement. At this juncture, while the JLP's popularity has declined, this has not translated into a significant boost of support for the PNP, which continues to suffer from internal divisions and from poor public perceptions of its long period of rule from 1989 to 2007. High rates of crime and violence have plagued Jamaica for many years. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a high level of politically motivated violence surrounding national elections. After Jamaica's independence from Britain in 1962 and especially in the 1970s, political parties enlisted the support of armed local criminal gangs, also known as posses, to deliver votes at election time in so-called "garrison communities" in inner cities. These garrison communities had developed in the 1960s and 1970s when the ruling party would allocate housing units in large government built housing projects to their political supporters; the allocation of government housing in effect was used to create JLP and PNP strongholds. Gang leaders known as "dons" often dominated their communities and received government contracts and protection from the law in exchange for their commitment to the JLP or PNP. Garrison communities have been described as a "state within a state," where gangs exert control through violence and intimidation, but also by providing protection and services to the community. The political violence associated with these "garrison communities" reached a peak in the 1980 election when some 800 people were killed in clashes between rival groups. While political violence at election time has been reduced considerably, the 2007 general election was still marred by some violence with nine people killed, and voters living in "garrison communities" faced pressure and intimidation. Jamaican gangs have also been involved in drug and weapons trafficking, and have links abroad, largely in New York City and Toronto, Canada. In the 1970s, the gangs were largely involved in the trafficking of marijuana, but beginning in the 1980s gangs became involved in cocaine trade and weapons trafficking. As the gangs became connected to the international cocaine trade, their power appeared to emanate from the drug trade itself as opposed to their connection to the political parties or individual politicians. Likewise, the availability of guns began to grow as a result of the connection to the international drug trade. Since the 1990s, violent crime in the country has been associated in large part with drug trafficking. A 2007 joint United Nations/World Bank study maintained that the rise in crime and violence in the Caribbean in recent years, including Jamaica, can be explained by narcotics trafficking in and through the region. Jamaica currently has one of the world's highest murder rates, with over 1,583 murders committed in Jamaica in 2007, 1,611 murders in 2008 (the first full year under the Golding government), and 1,680 murders in 2009. About half of the murders in 2009 were reported to be related to intra-gang and internal gang feuds. The connection between gangs and the importation of guns has been a serious concern, with over 70% of murders involving guns, with the majority of weapons originating in the United States. The Golding government established a joint military/police task force in late 2007 to help deal with the violence, and in late 2008 said that it would introduce legislation to criminalize gang membership. In early May 2010, before the outbreak of violence associated with the Coke extradition, Jamaica's National Security Minister maintained that the government was preparing anti-gang legislation. In the aftermath of the violence, the government maintained that it would fast track anti-crime legislation. One of the most difficult challenges for Jamaica's political system is breaking the remaining linkages between the political parties and armed gangs. Prime Minister Golding's decision to extradite Christopher Coke, whose Shower Posse dominated Tivoli Gardens (in the Prime Minister's electoral district) and was a strong JLP supporter for many years, could prove to be a turning point in Jamaican politics. Some observers point out, however, that because a number of Jamaican politicians have links to "garrison communities," it will not be easy to break the entrenched linkages between armed gangs and the political parties.