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Washington.- Experts warn that the increase in violence in Haiti caused by gangs, which outnumber security forces, has been fueled by a significant flow of illegal weapons from the United States today.
“The weapons keep coming, it’s a story that never ends. We have to tackle arms trafficking in Haiti, it is extremely important,” warned Romain Le Cour of the Global Crime Initiative, quoted by The Hill newspaper.
Worryingly, criminal groups are armed with powerful American-made weapons, including .50 caliber sniper rifles and semi-automatic AR-15s, as well as other small arms such as pistols.
For Le Cour, smugglers have been “de facto smuggling weapons into Haiti” for years and it is a situation that has worsened “during the current crisis”.
He considered that “it is truly deplorable to see a country and a city under complete blockade for a month at war, and there is no sign of any shortage of weapons or ammunition.”
The long-standing problem is said to have worsened in recent days, making it the target of efforts by President Joe Biden’s administration.
The newspaper reminded that since the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, gang control has tightened in the Caribbean nation, especially in the capital Port-au-Prince.
But the situation worsened last year, with even the United Nations (UN) warning that more than 360,000 people were displaced from their homes due to the violence.
In recent weeks, the cycle of insecurity reached its peak with the Prime Minister of Haiti being forced to resign after an ultimatum given by the leader of the G9 ‘Family and Allies’ gang, Jimmy Charizier, alias “Barbecue”. Fell.
Given the unstable scenario in Haiti, the United States sent an elite team of Marines to provide security to its embassy, which drew criticism.
About 90 percent of Port-au-Prince is controlled by gangs. Since they have outnumbered the Haitian National Police (PNH), estimates suggest.
Furthermore, calculations show that the number of such criminal groups in the national territory is up to 200, with a growing number of members and more than nine thousand PNH agents.
The United Nations has published a report that warns of more than 4,400 deaths due to violence generated by gangs in Haiti in 2023 and that the death toll in the first three months of this year has increased to more than 500 thousand .
The report describes the current situation as “catastrophic” and in this scenario, gangs maintain a “reliable supply chain” of arms and ammunition.
