Insecurity is growing in Haiti. Photo: AFP.
High caliber weapons are illegally arriving in Haiti in increasing numbers, with levels of violence unprecedented for decadesaccording to a UN report released this Saturday.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) specified that pistols and, on occasions, heavy machine guns “are imported clandestinely, in a context of rapid and unprecedented deterioration of security.”
Haitithe poorest country in America, has been submerged for years in a deep economic, security and political crisis.
The United Nations body conducted 45 interviews with policy makers, development agencies, experts and members of civil society to carry out its work.
The assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021 aggravated the situation.
The number of registered homicides went from 1,141 in 2019 to 2,183 in 2022 and the number of kidnappings from 78 to 1,359, since criminal gangs control more than half of the national territory, according to the study that “regrets the effect of arms trafficking on the multiple Haitian crises”.
The UNODC conclusions are based on a recent increase in firearms seizures, intelligence reports and court decisions, the AFP news agency said.
The United Nations body conducted 45 interviews with policy makers, development agencies, experts and members of civil society to carry out its work.
The evaluation should help grant “support to the Haitian people,” said Angela Me, head of the UNOD analysis service, an agency based in Vienna, in a statement.
Handguns, sold for less than $500 legally in the United States, can be bought for up to $10,000 in Haiti
LMost of the weapons come from the United States and first pass through Florida, where members of the Haitian diaspora “often take it upon themselves to hide them in containers of usual import items.”
Handguns, sold for less than $500 legally in the United States, can be purchased for up to $10,000 in Haiti.
Criminal gangs favor AK47s, AR15s, and Galil assault rifles.
The porous borders, the lack of resources of the customs and coast guards -which only have one ship in working order-, corruption and intimidation are the main obstacles to stopping this trend.
“Investments in community policing, criminal justice reform and the fight against corruption are essential” to restore sustainable securitythe report concluded.
