Stopping Weapons Trafficking
Cutting off the guns and ammunition smuggled to Haiti's gangs from abroad.
Most of the firearms reaching Haiti's gangs are trafficked from the United States, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. A June 2026 report by Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic found that 78% of the firearms traced in Haiti came from Florida. Guns are bought in the United States — often through straw purchases — hidden in cargo and small boats, and shipped to Haiti, where gangs control the approaches to Port-au-Prince's ports.
Because the supply comes from outside Haiti, the solution must reach beyond Haiti's borders.
In the countries the weapons come from
- Prosecute traffickers, straw purchasers and the dealers who knowingly sell to them — whatever their nationality — and seize their profits
- Step up inspections of licensed gun dealers in the areas where traced guns were bought, especially South Florida
- Scan more outbound cargo and inspect small vessels leaving for Haiti from Florida and other Caribbean hubs
- Extradite or prosecute foreign nationals who arm Haitian gangs, and share evidence quickly with Haitian investigators
At Haiti's ports, airstrips and border
- Put modern cargo scanners and trained, well-paid, vetted customs officers at every port and airport
- Strengthen the Haitian Coast Guard to patrol the coast and intercept smuggling boats
- Secure the land border with the Dominican Republic and close unauthorized airstrips
- Root out corruption: rotate officers, audit seizures and protect whistle-blowers
Tracing every seized gun
- Record the make, model and serial number of every weapon seized in Haiti
- Trace every seized gun through the U.S. ATF eTrace system to find where it was bought — and make eTrace available in French and Haitian Creole for Haitian investigators
- Share tracing results with investigators so each seized gun leads to the next trafficker
- Destroy surplus and seized weapons safely so they never return to the streets
Enforcing international sanctions
The UN Security Council renewed its targeted arms embargo and sanctions against those who arm and finance Haiti's gangs in November 2025 (Resolution 2794). We urge every country to enforce these measures — freezing assets and banning travel for those who supply the gangs — and to add the traffickers and financiers behind them to the sanctions list.
Sources
- UNODC — Explainer: Organized crime and gang violence in Haiti (January 2026)
- Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic — Disrupting U.S. Arms Trafficking to Haiti (June 2026)
- United Nations in Haiti — Haiti is under a UN arms embargo: so why are 500,000 illegal weapons in circulation?
- ASIL — UN extends Haiti arms embargo amid ongoing gang violence
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