Florida Is Playing a Key Role In Supplying Guns To Gangs Wreaking Havoc In Haiti

Dominican authorities have intercepted a shipment of high-powered firearms and ammunition, exposing a sophisticated smuggling route supplying weapons to Haitian gangs wreaking havoc in the country.

The cargo, which came from Miami, was declared to contain household goods such as tires and refrigerators but actually included a military-grade Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle, an Uzi machine gun, and thousands of rounds of ammunition, the Miami Herald reported.

The discovery highlights the growing role of the Dominican Republic in arms trafficking, as Haitian gangs seek new supply routes.

U.S.-sourced firearms continue to fuel the crisis in Haiti despite arms embargoes imposed by both the United Nations and the United States. Smugglers have adapted by employing increasingly sophisticated methods, such as concealing weapons in fuel canisters and air compressors, which allow them to bypass law enforcement detection.

Recent statistics underline the scale of the problem, with a 2024 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) report showing that over half of firearms recovered from Caribbean crime scenes between 2017 and 2021 were originally purchased in Florida.

Dominican authorities have made multiple seizures in recent months. In January, officials intercepted 85 firearms, including AK-47s and Glock pistols, hidden inside compressor tanks shipped from Brooklyn, New York. A separate operation last week uncovered an arsenal that included high-caliber rifles, Glock pistols, and 36,000 rounds of ammunition, along with rifle and pistol magazines.

However, the country's porous border with Haiti, spanning 243 miles, lacks sufficient surveillance infrastructure. As a result, traffickers have exploited legal shipping channels, falsely declaring goods as transit cargo to bypass customs duties and inspections.

The latest seizures coincide with related ongoing court cases in Florida. In Tampa, a Guatemalan national was sentenced to 14 years in prison for illegally buying and exporting thousands of firearms to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Another case involved a police officer in St. Cloud, who supplied an Orlando-based trafficking network responsible for smuggling hundreds of weapons to the Caribbean.

The United Nations has warned that despite international efforts to curb arms trafficking, Haitian gangs continue to acquire increasingly sophisticated weapons. They allow them to fend off international and local police forces and keep control of most of the capital.

Haitian forces recently failed to assassinate one of the country's top gang leaders, Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier, in the lower Delmas 6 neighborhood. Several gang members were killed but the leader managed to survive. He published a video on his X account showing he was still alive and claimed that police tried to use explosive drones to kill him.