Listen to this article · 3 min ■BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — The Barbados Parliament has passed the Domestic Terrorism Act, 2026, creating a new offence aimed at penalizing violent acts in public spaces that spread fear or are motivated by bias. A person convicted of domestic terrorism where the underlying serious criminal offence is murder is liable to death or life imprisonment. The act also specifies that committing an act of domestic terrorism shall be considered an aggravating factor in sentencing. In January, two attorneys argued that priority should be placed on addressing the social and economic problems fueling poverty and gang activity rather than pursuing new terrorism legislation. The passage of the Domestic Terrorism Act comes as Barbados prepares for its next Caribbean Financial Action Task Force evaluation round in less than a year, with officials emphasizing the need to strengthen regulatory frameworks to meet international anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.