Haiti It is going through its worst security crisis in decades, with increasingly numerous and powerful weapons in the hands of criminal gangs that use violence to gain control of the country, the UN denounced today. That arsenal comes mostly from Florida, USA.
“The latest uptick in firearms seizures, along with intelligence and law enforcement reports, suggests that firearms trafficking between the United States and Haiti is increasing,” reports the United Nations Office on Crime. Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in a report released this Friday in Vienna.
New UNODC Report: Haiti’s criminal markets: mapping trends in firearms and drug trafficking.
Gang-related violence in Haiti has reached levels not seen in decades, and firearms & drug trafficking are feeding the cascading security crises.
More: https://t.co/7C1cr3yTgz pic.twitter.com/YRytbWB8rA
—UN Office on Drugs & Crime (@UNODC) March 3, 2023
“All indicators of insecurity, from homicides to sexual violence and kidnappings, to police murders, are increasing,” adds the report cited by efe.
The document notes that firearms smuggling is fueling violence, while the country remains a transit point for drugs such as cocaine and authorities appear overwhelmed by the situation.
Haiti has been immersed in the crisis for years, a situation that aggravated the assassination in July 2021 of then-President Jovenel Moïse at the hands of mercenaries, mostly Colombians.
The current Haitian government has repeatedly called for an international military force to be sent to the country to combat the armed gangs.
triggered violence
Homicides, kidnappings and displacements are skyrocketing in the country, which is suffering the worst humanitarian and human rights emergency in decades, stresses the UNODC.
Homicides have doubled from 2019 to 2,183 last year, while kidnappings have risen from 78 in 2019 to nearly 1,400 in 2022.
In addition, the violence of the armed groups aggravates the situation of the cholera outbreak, increasing food insecurity and causing the displacement of thousands of people.
The proliferation of landing strips for small planes and the lack of customs resources in the ports facilitate the entry of drugs and weapons into the country.
The report estimates that there may be as many as half a million small arms in Haiti, although “their true number may never be known.”
Florida
“The main source of firearms and ammunition in Haiti is the United States, and in particular Florida,” the report states, indicating that a pistol that is bought in the United States for around 400 or 500 dollars can be sold in Haiti for up to 10 000 dollars.
The most powerful automatic rifles, such as the AK 47, are the most demanded by the armed groups. The weapons are acquired through illegal networks that include members of the Haitian diaspora in the US.
Gun dealers take advantage of lax gun laws in the US, where high-powered automatic rifles can be purchased in many states without showing any documentation.
Shipments may leave in containers directly from South Florida ports, with the items hidden inside consumer products, clothing linings or frozen food, UN experts explain.
Other routes of entry of arms to Haiti is through the neighboring Dominican Republic and, to a lesser extent, Jamaica.
In conclusion, the report notes that Haitian security forces are outnumbered and outgunned by weapons in the hands of private citizens, including criminal groups.
Efe/OnCuba.
