US making moves to combat weapons trafficking in the Caribbean

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#USA, August 18, 2023 – The United States spoke on the issue of arms trafficking in the Caribbean, zooming in on Haiti, saying that it is cognizant of and recognizes the issue, and is “very dedicated” “to addressing” it “head on.” This was expressed by Barbara Feinstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Caribbean Affairs and Haiti Bureau of the Western Hemisphere, speaking at a virtual press briefing on Friday August 4th, 2023.

This was prompted by a question from a Reuters representative who asked, ” What actions is the State Department taking to prevent more guns from being trafficked from the US to [gains] in Haiti?”

Zeroing in on Haiti, Feinstein revealed that the United States is working to establish a “Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit within the Haitian National Police, that will include vetted personnel, working with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and others.”

She continued to explain that they will be working to address the issue of firearms trafficking, and leverage the e-trade system, that is capable of tracking the serial number of their point of origin in the US, to help ensure these cases are put together and prosecutions can take place.

Additionally, she pointed to statements regarding the US’s move to combat international arms movement, made by Kamala Harris, Vice President while she was in Nassau in June this year and Secretary Antony Blinken in July.

She highlighted that they referred to the designation or creation of a new office within the Department of Justice, that is the first ever Coordinator for Caribbean firearms prosecutions as well as the naming of a very experienced prosecutor.

Feinstein continued to expound on these new developments saying that the to be named prosecutor and others, will have access to a “critical new tool,” through the Passage and Enactment  of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, that led to the establishment of “stiffer penalties for international weapons trafficking,” which it also made a “federal crime.”

This will give way to a greater chance within the Department of Justice to see prosecutions of state purchasers and “provides greater accountability in addition to much greater deterrent effect for straw purchasers and arms trafficking,” she maintained.

In her continued reassuring of the US’s position on weapons trafficking, that is on the preventative side, Feinstein, without failure, called attention to The United States’ support for the Crime Gun Intelligence Unit in Trinidad and Tobago, “with support from CARICOM Impacts. She says this is a regional effort to look at issues around gun trafficking, adding that they acknowledge that it rarely happens in one country as there is a “network going across the Caribbean and elsewhere.”

The deputy assistant secretary then stated that to whatever extent the US can make use of all these tools, they will be much better equipped, being put in a more “comprehensive position,” where they can better address gun trafficking in Haiti and the wider Caribbean.