Weak border controls fueling Haiti’s armed crisis, UN report finds

Criminal networks are exploiting Haiti’s poorly guarded ports, airports and land borders, allowing thousands of illegal firearms, mainly from the United States, to flood the country and empower violent gangs, according to a recent United Nations report.

The UN’s findings show that the General Administration of Customs and the Haitian national police’s ability to curtail the weapons flow into Haiti is “significantly hindered by several interconnected challenges,” including “severe underfunding and understaffing, inadequate resources and technology to effectively monitor ports, airports and land border crossings.”

Traffickers are also increasingly using creative methods to smuggle weapons from South Florida to Haiti, concealing them in “electronic equipment, garment linings, frozen food items or even the hulls of freighters.” 

Due to administrative loopholes, cargo valued under $2,500 and accompanied by a handwritten manifest may circumvent inspection. Corruption, a lack of oversight and inter-agency inefficiency were also cited as factors.

Not only does Florida raise alarms regarding illegal activity, but one expert points to how the Dominican Republic (DR) has become a key corridor for smuggling, underscoring the urgent need for tighter border controls. 

“Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic (DR) is porous [and is] prone to contraband of commercial products, often from the DR, human trafficking from Haiti to the DR and narcotics and weapons trafficking [that is] going both ways,” Georges A. Fauriol, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); and fellow with the Caribbean Policy Consortium (CPC) told The Haitian Times. 

U.S. guns trafficked through Florida arm Haitian gangs, fuel unrest

The UN report found that the influx of firearms into Haiti, a country that does not manufacture weapons, has strengthened criminal gangs and enabled them to commit widespread human rights abuses.

The report also points to findings from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which observed “a persistent flow of firearms trafficked to Haiti from the United States, and specifically Florida.”

The UN office also said the United States has less stringent firearm regulations, making straw purchases a common way to acquire weapons. Once purchased, the guns are moved to Florida, concealed and shipped to Haiti.

A straw purchase occurs when someone buys a firearm on behalf of another person to circumvent the background check required for the actual recipient – an illegal practice with a maximum sentence of 25 years and a $250,000 fine depending on the recipient and if the firearm was used during a felony crime.   

On Monday, gangs attacked a police station and prison in central Haiti, releasing more than 500 inmates. According to the Miami Herald, which first reported the attack, “ongoing efforts in the region to stop the illegal trafficking of arms across the border” were to blame. 

The UN report says the widespread use of firearms, particularly by gangs, has severely undermined civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in Haiti. It also finds that gangs use weapons as tools of control within local communities, committing sexual violence, including gang rape and sexual exploitation, to coerce and dominate residents.. 

For Fauriol, narcotics and weapons trafficking, which flows both ways between Haiti and the DR, helps explain the increasingly resourceful armory and financing of the gangs.

“On top of all of this is the historical overlay of corruption that has long penetrated Haiti’s border control machinery and related business interests,” he said. “The Dominican Republic’s uneven response to all of this over time has not helped.”

The post Weak border controls fueling Haiti’s armed crisis, UN report finds appeared first on The Haitian Times.