Haitian Americans call on federal government to stop gun trafficking to Haitian gangs

TAMPA, Fla. - Haitian Americans are calling on the federal government to do more to protect the island.

The organization Haiti Pathway Forward- is a bipartisan advocacy group, calling on the federal government to stop the flow of illegal weapons to gangs in Haiti and to support Haiti’s military as the country's crisis deepens.

"People are being terrorized. Haitians are being terrorized every single day. It’s devastating to watch. It’s disheartening. It's frustrating," said Maybelle Jadotte Clairvil the director of Haiti Pathway Forward.

READ: Bay Area rescue groups preparing to support, aid Americans trapped in Haiti amid violent unrest

Her organization sent a letter to President Biden on March 11 calling on him to lift an arms embargo which prevents the United States from supplying weapons to the Haitian army.

"The biggest concern is that the weapons are being smuggled to Haiti, are in the hands, are going to the hands of gangs, nay, domestic terrorists. Meanwhile, you have, a Haitian military and a new Haitian military, and, mind you, that was established in 2017 that has no connection to human rights abuses, that are understaffed. They are under-resourced, they're outgunned, and they're outnumbered," said Clairvil.

We reported last week, a 2023 UN report cited a majority of Haiti’s gangs are armed with guns trafficked from the U.S., and particularly Florida.

The FBI led operations in Florida, resulting in a few arrests.

Clairvil said the embargo puts the Haitian military at a disadvantage.

READ: UN report finds Haitian gangs armed with Florida’s guns, FBI arrests Floridians for gun smuggling

"Guns are coming into the country through illegal means in the hands of gangs. Yet the Haitian military cannot go and buy guns legally. They cannot buy guns legally from the U.S. or other countries because of this act, which can be changed by a stroke of a pen," she said.

On Monday, Republican Florida lawmakers called on the Biden Administration to deploy the navy to intercept migrants off the coast of Florida.

That letter penned by Representatives Matt Gatez, Guz Bilirakis, Daniel Webster and Anna Paulina Luna expressed concern that the current resources are "insufficient to address the scope and scale of the anticipated mass migration."

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