Authorities find drug smugglers among Haitian migrants escaping violence

Authorities from Turks and Caicos Islands have found drug smugglers among Haitians escaping their violence-ridden country.

The latest episode took place last Friday and Saturday, when law enforcement from the territory, located less than 500 miles away from Florida, seized more than $2 million in marijuana in two separate interceptions of undocumented migrants coming from the northern coast of Haiti.

Haiti's southern coast is a popular route for marijuana smuggling. However, it is not common for it to come from the north, with a report by the Miami Herald raising questions about its origin and transportation.

"The trafficking of illicit contraband, such as cannabis, into the Turks and Caicos Islands is an offense with serious penalties," Royal Turks and Caicos Police Commissioner Edvin Martin said, according to the outlet.

Haiti's spiraling crisis is spilling over to other countries, with authorities recently firing most of the country's staff at its embassy in Surinam following concerns raised by French authorities about the possible involvement of its diplomats in the facilitation of illegal migration.

All but one of the Haitian diplomats stationed in Suriname have been recalled to Port-au-Prince, with 12 locally hired contractors being dismissed as well. Haitian Foreign Minister Dominique Dupuy, who ordered an internal investigation into the matter, informed French and U.S. officials of the decision, according to the Miami Herald.

The investigation was triggered after French authorities reported a surge in the number of Haitian migrants arriving in French Guiana via Suriname, many of whom were seeking asylum. It was discovered that at least one charter flight had transported Haitians from Port-au-Prince to Suriname's capital, Paramaribo, in early July.

The scheme reportedly involves Haitians paying up to $4,000 to a travel agency for flights into Suriname, where they then board buses destined for French Guiana or Brazil. In Brazil, they continue their journey northward to the U.S.-Mexico border, traversing the treacherous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama.