Haiti: How arms trafficking from the US is fueling violence in the Caribbean country

Among those who leave is David Charles, a 14-year-old teenager whose father, named Israel, anxiously awaits his arrival in Cape-Haitian.

A bus with covered windows pulls to the side of the road and Israel smiles in anticipation. Their son David comes down the stairs with luggage and the two hug each other tightly.

David managed to escape Port-au-Prince, a broken city Due to armed gang violence and political chaos.

Much of the violence in Haiti is concentrated in the capital, according to UN estimates 80% controlled by gangs.

Israel did not want her son, who lived there alone for two years to complete his education, to become a “victim”.

This month’s wave of violence prompted him to send his son to Cap Haitien, a safer city in the north of the country.

“The journey was very long, more than six hours. I was praying all the way,” says David.

And he adds: “Then the bus driver told us that there were several shots in one area, but they did not hit our vehicle.”

The other bus passengers are tired, relieved, but also angry.

A man in a dark T-shirt and sunglasses answers in a low voice when we ask him how he is and shows obvious anger when he tells us he has a message for the United States.

“Everyone here The weapons belong to the United States, everyone knows that. If the US wants to stop this, they can easily do it in a month! We are asking the US to give us a chance to live, just one chance,” he explains.

Although no weapons are produced in Haiti, a UN report in January said that Port-au-Prince was overflowing with all kinds of weapons, from 9mm pistols. Assault rifles such as AK47, sniper rifles and machine guns.

All of these weapons contribute to an alarming increase in gang-related violence in Haiti.

There is no exact figure for how many weapons are trafficked in Haiti today.

A UN report estimated that in 2020 the estimated number was Half a million legal and illegal firearms in the country.

The document states that arms and ammunition are being smuggled from US states like Florida, Texas and Georgia by land, air and sea.

Attacks have taken place in the country’s main ports: Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix and Cape Haitian.

Illegal weapons They often hide in shipping containers Among the donations of toys and clothes.

In July 2022, Haitian authorities seized a large shipment of dozens of firearms and 15,000 cartridges from Florida destined for the Episcopal Church in Haiti.

The UN has also identified some uses Secret landing strips Built for humanitarian purposes after the devastating earthquake of 2010, it is now barely secure.

In a corner of his office, Cap-Hatienne’s chief prosecutor, Charles-Edouard Durant, keeps a semi-automatic weapon.

He says he needs security every time he travels and things have never been worse in Haiti: “This is a nightmare, a nightmare. “I want Haitians to wake up and work for a better country.”

Are you worried that, as guns become more widespread, violence might reach Cape-Hattian?

At this question, he smiles with more confidence. “We are resisting, we have our ways: informers, outposts… Are they afraid of us? Of course. We are not playing. Anything can happen. “If a gangster comes, he doesn’t come to play, but neither do we.”

The United States, for its part, pledged to address the problem of guns and gangs.

Last year, the State Department said it planned to help install it A new police unit in Haiti Addressing arms trafficking in the country.

Barbara Feinstein, deputy assistant secretary of state for Caribbean and Haitian affairs, alleged at the time that arms trafficking from the United States was only “part of the equation” in Haiti’s problem.

However, with no head of state and effectively no government, people living in the Caribbean country are trapped in a vicious cycle of violence fueled by illegal weapons.

One of them is Juliet Dorson, 50, who fled to Port-au-Prince after surviving the shooting.

The woman, whose profession is an event organizer, still bears bullet wounds from the ambush while she was working.

“I said, ‘Run, run, run because they’re shooting.’ At that time They shot me twice: once in the leg and once in the arm“

Ten people died, including his 22-year-old business partner Luke.

Juliet cries when she talks about it, because the memory of the event is so traumatic.

“When gangs and violence started in Port-au-Prince, the government did nothing to stop it and they allowed it to grow and grow. Now it is very complicated to stop it,” he lamented.

*Additional reporting by Morgan Giesholt Minard.