Haitian gangs have better weapons than national police, UN says
Gang members sit together after former police officer Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, and leader of an alliance of armed groups, addressed the media, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 11, 2024.
The arsenals of Haitian gangs are far more powerful than those of the Caribbean country's police force, posing a risk to the 1,000 Kenyan police officers due to go to the country on a peacekeeping mission.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says in its latest report that the gangs are armed with Russian AK47s, United States of America (US)-made AR-15s and Israeli Galil assault rifles.
"A surge in the trafficking of increasingly sophisticated weapons has gripped Haiti since 2021," UNODC said in the report.
The UNODC representative in the region said Haiti is facing a severe humanitarian crisis.
"The consequences have plunged the Caribbean nation into an ongoing political and humanitarian crisis. There is currently an unprecedented level of lawlessness," Sylvie Bertrand told UN News this week.
According to the report, gun violence between gangs and state law enforcement agencies remains a serious problem and has attracted young men, including adolescents.
It says the violence is often intertwined with gang-related activities, including drug trafficking, and is facilitated by the easy availability of firearms.
The report identified the United States of America (USA) as the main source of illegal firearms traced in Haiti.
"Firearms and ammunition are typically obtained from federally licensed retail stores, gun shows, and pawn shops through straw purchases," it said.
In the past, Haitians and Haitian-Americans, particularly in Florida and New York, have been arrested and convicted for acting as brokers and facilitators in the purchase of illegal weapons and ammunition with the intent to traffic them.
According to the UN, a 5.56 mm semi-automatic rifle that costs a few hundred dollars in the US is regularly sold for $5,000, the equivalent of Sh650,000.
Second on the list is the Dominican Republic, but the report states that the country is only used as a conduit once the firearms have been purchased in the US.
Once purchased, the firearms are illegally transported to selected seaports in the Dominican Republic, mainly the port of Haina in Santo Domingo.
"Upon arrival in the Dominican Republic, firearms and other goods are transported to official or unofficial land border crossings with Haiti. The number of intercepted military goods (firearms and ammunition) reportedly doubled between 2018 and 2022," the report revealed.
Between 2021 and 2023, more than 150,000 illegal firearms were seized in the Dominican Republic.
For Jamaica, which is third on the list, gangs in Haiti are supplying them with more guns, the report said.
"There is a robust and sustained demand for firearms from Jamaican gangs.
Jamaican gangs. Firearms trafficked from Haiti, including weapons belonging to the Haitian National have been confiscated from the police," the report said.
According to the UN, a medical worker said that the increasing number of weapons in circulation and the upgrading of arsenals were having an impact on the lethality and severity of the wounds inflicted on the masses.
Ms Gaelle Castor, an opposition political leader in Haiti who is also the executive director and founder of Se Fanm, a non-profit organisation that aims to empower Haitian women and children, this week warned Kenya against plans to send troops to Haiti.
Ms Castor said the government should ensure that the officers to be sent to the country are well equipped as she claimed that gangs in her home country are using deadly weapons.
Police officers take part in a confrontation with gangs near the National Palace, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 21, 2024.
"They have already defeated the police officers simply because they are well equipped. This is one thing that Kenya should take note of," she said.
Ms Castor, who had jetted into the country in 2023, still had the same message about how tough the gangs were in Haiti.
In vast Haiti, more than 150 gangs are operating across the country, with 23 of them operating in Port-au-Prince.
The 23 operating in the capital have split into two major coalitions; one known as G-Pep, led by Gabriel Jean Pierre aka Ti Gabriel, and the G9 Family and Allies, led by Jimmy Cherizer aka Barbecue.
The two gangs operated as rivals until a recent attack in February, when they joined forces and targeted the airport, hospitals, schools, police stations and the National Theatre.
Famine
Almost half of Haiti's 11.7 million people are in need of food aid, according to a UN analysis.
But even getting food into the country and to the people is a challenge.
Mr Wethzer Piercin, a Haiti-based crime journalist, said Haiti is capable of feeding itself, but gangs are already taking control of the Artibonite region.
A woman reacts at a crime scene where the bodies of several people, who were shot dead earlier in the morning amid an escalation in gang violence, were being removed by an ambulance, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 18, 2024.
He said the gangs were stealing livestock and robbing farmers in the region, which is known for its agriculture.
In addition, the gangs also sexually abuse women found on the farms, and according to a platform known as the Development of Artibonite (PLAFODA), more than 1,370 cases have been recorded since April 2023.
"Attacks by gangs have intensified, with more than 9,000 peasants forced to flee their homes in search of a safer place, according to city hall data," he said.
Meanwhile, the deployment of Kenyan police in Haiti remains uncertain. This comes after a nine-member council formed to oversee the transition of power failed to reach an agreement.
This is despite President William Ruto saying that Kenyan officers will continue to lead a UN-backed multinational police force despite the resignation of outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Kenya on Tuesday received a Sh13 million donation to support its plans to send officials from Algeria to the Caribbean country.
The council consists of seven voting members and two observers - representing political parties, the private sector and civil society - and will pave the way for presidential elections to be held in February 2026.
The new authorities will replace the government of the outgoing prime minister. However, it is the outgoing government that will approve the deal sealed by the nine council members.
