AMERICA: TRAFFICKING GUNS TO HAITI

Written by Michael Thervil

Photo by Giles Clarke

Is America purposely trafficking guns into Haiti? The answer is just as murky as it is unclear. The one thing that can be said is that even though it may be unclear if America is purposely allowing the trafficking of guns into Haiti, it's beyond the shadow of doubt that American guns are being shipped to Haiti. It was reported by Haitian police that there’s an estimated 500,000 guns in Haiti alone and even though Haiti itself doesn’t manufacture any kinds of firearms, with a population of roughly 12 million people, the Haitian national police still found itself encountering 1 gun for every 24 of its citizens.

According to the Haitian national police, over 95% of these guns are coming from America. To be specific, the guns that are trafficked into Haiti are coming directly from the state of Florida (Fort Lauderdale). Although America has a custom and borders law enforcement agency, the people that we’ve spoken to about this social issue are saying that not only are American customs and boarder’s officers lax when it comes to transnational shipments to Haiti, but some of them are corrupted as well. What is meant by this is that the American customs and border officers that are corrupted either accept bribes and/or favors to turn a blind eye when it comes to certain shipments going to Haiti.

The Haitian national police recently stated that over the course of year there are hundreds of transnational shipments that traffic guns into Haiti and they simply can’t stop the flow of trafficked guns into Haiti because there just so much of it and they like most law enforcement agencies are understaffed to deal with the situation. Even with the influx of Kenyan police officers in Haiti who have come to assist the Haitian national police, according to many Haitians they are worthless and do more harm than good. Haiti isn’t the only Caribbean nation that is plagued by the trafficking of guns from America. Police agencies from the Caribbean countries like Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic and others are also confirming the claims made by the Haitian national police.

Last year, it was reported that there were over 5,600 people that died in Haiti because of the trafficking of guns. Haitian gangs such as Delmas 6, Baz Pilate, Nan Ti Bwa, Baz Nan Chabon, Simon Pele, Baz Krache Dife, and Belekou are some of the most notorious gangs operating in Haiti that are considered by many to be the root cause to the high number of gun deaths in the country. But the social issue of gun trafficking and gun related deaths are not only because of the flow of guns coming from America and their use by Haitian gangs. Another contributor to the deaths from gun violence in Haiti comes from the Haitian government itself.

Although nearly all governments are corrupt to one degree or another, the Haitian government, like the Ukrainian government, is amongst the most corrupt in the world. In the case of the Haitian government, some government officials profit off the back of dead Haitians because of how lucrative gun trafficking is. While many Haitian residents are wondering if the social issue of gun trafficking and death in Haiti will ever come to an end, many people in the region and around the world are skeptical that the gun trafficking and associated deaths will ever stop. If that’s the case, the only question left is: “is Haiti as a country and the people within it doomed to endure perpetual gun trafficking and death for all eternity?”. The world is watching.