{"id":168221,"date":"2020-09-07T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2020-09-07T11:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=168221"},"modified":"2020-09-06T07:32:43","modified_gmt":"2020-09-06T06:32:43","slug":"the-12-million-weapons-sale-from-us-to-the-haiti-police-raises-troubling-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/09\/the-12-million-weapons-sale-from-us-to-the-haiti-police-raises-troubling-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"The $12 Million Weapons Sale from US to the Haiti Police Raises \u201cTroubling Questions\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

State Department Awarded Contract to Politically Connected Security Firm<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

31 Aug 2020 – <\/em>In November, 2019, as part of its support for the Haitian National Police (HNP), the State Department\u2019s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) awarded<\/a> a $73,000 contract for the provision of \u201criot gear kit[s]\u201d for the police\u2019s crowd control unit, CIMO, according to information contained in the US government\u2019s contracting database.<\/p>\n

\n

Earlier this summer, CIMO and other HNP units used US-manufactured tear gas<\/a> to disperse activists who had assembled in front of the Ministry of Justice rallying for the right to life amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation. The police repressed the protest even though the organizers had received proper legal clearance. It was an example of why such State Department contracts are concerning \u2014 not just because of how the riot gear can be used on the ground, but because of the firm that received the contract: X-International.<\/p>\n

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USASpending.gov database showing $73,000 purchase order from X-International, LLC for \u201criot gear kit\u201d for CIMO.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

X-International, according to Florida corporate records<\/a>, is owned by Carl Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Martin, also known as \u201cKappa.\u201d A Haitian-American and former member of the US Navy, Martin has become increasingly involved in Haiti\u2019s security forces over the last few years, though, his private ventures should raise even more troubling questions about the State Department contract.<\/p>\n

In June, local press<\/a> reported that Martin, together with a relative of Dimitri Herard \u2014 the head of Haiti\u2019s palace guard \u2014 had formed a new company, Haiti Ordnance Factory S.A. (HOFSA). According to its corporate registration documents, the new company would be authorized to manufacture weapons and ammunition in Haiti. After news of the company\u2019s existence broke, however, the government revoked its business license. But this was just one of Herard and Martin\u2019s new ventures.<\/p>\n

In April 2020, before the controversy over HOFSA erupted in public, the two formed another company: Tradex Haiti S.A. Unlike HOFSA, Tradex is not authorized to manufacture weapons or ammunition, but is simply a security company that can buy and sell equipment. Herard and Martin had been trying to break into the arms market for more than a year. Now, according to a source with knowledge of the industry in Haiti, the two are operating one of the most lucrative arms dealerships in the country.<\/p>\n

The arrest of an arms dealer \u2026 and an opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n

In late December 2019, the Haitian government arrested<\/a> businessman Aby Larco, accusing him of being a significant source of arms trafficking in Haiti. Larco had operated a well-known weapons company for years, with contracts with the HNP and also frequently used by the US embassy to repair firearms. But, prosecutors alleged, he was also an important supplier of black market weapons that wound up in the hands of criminal groups.<\/p>\n

After Larco\u2019s arrest, the government\u2019s disarmament commission, created to help get weapons out of the hands of civilians, proclaimed it had a list<\/a> of criminals who had received weapons from Larco. But more than eight months later, the case against Larco has stalled, and no information has been provided about possibly illegal weapon sales. Meanwhile, Larco\u2019s arrest made space in the Haitian arms market for others to move in.<\/p>\n

According to multiple sources close to the case, Herard and Martin had been in discussion with Larco for many months with an eye to possibly working together. In the end, however, the sources say Larco rejected their overtures. Seven days after his arrest, HOFSA\u2019s corporate registration was published in Le Moniteur. Though President Jovenel Mo\u00efse touted Larco\u2019s arrest as a blow against the proliferation of illegal weapons, the government has remained quiet about the head of the palace guard moonlighting as a private arms dealer.<\/p>\n

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Le Moniteur<\/em> showing registration of HOFSA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Herard himself has been implicated in human rights abuses. The State Department\u2019s own 2019 human rights report<\/a> notes that Herard:<\/p>\n

\u2026 shot and wounded two civilians in the Delmas 15 area of Port-au-Prince on June 10. Following this incident, several witnesses pursued Herard\u2019s vehicle toward his residence in Delmas 31. Upon arriving at the residence, Herard and other HNP officers on the scene opened fire on the group of civilians, resulting in two others being wounded.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Though Larco\u2019s arrest may have created space for Martin and Herard to enter the local market, Martin has been an arms dealer for much longer. Among those with knowledge of the local arms market, Martin is known for assembling weapons from disparate parts \u2014 in other words, manufacturing weapons that lack serial numbers and cannot be tracked. Some believe it was Martin who provided weapons to US mercenaries arrested<\/a> in Haiti in 2019. Martin was seen on the streets of the capital embedded with the police during the height of anti-government protests around the same time period. Dozens of protesters were killed, according to local human rights organizations.<\/p>\n

US increasing police funding despite worsening rights situation<\/strong><\/p>\n

In June, the day after police broke up the peaceful demonstration in front of the ministry of justice, armed civilians rallied in downtown Port-au-Prince. They were part of a new alliance: the \u201cG9 Family and Allies,\u201d led by a former police officer, Jimmy Cherizier. The police were nowhere to be found, however. The Washington Post reported<\/a> earlier this month:<\/p>\n

When Cherizier\u2019s men took to the streets in June, witnesses claimed to have seen them ride in the same armored vehicles used by the national police and special security forces. Justice Minister Lucmane Delile denounced the gangs and ordered the national police to pursue them; within hours, Mo\u00efse fired him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the days before the Post article, both the US Embassy and the United Nations mission in Haiti denounced the proliferation and power of armed groups in Haiti. The UN specifically mentioned Cherizier, noting his alleged role in the massacres at Grand Ravine in 2017 and La Saline in 2018, and myriad other abuses since.<\/p>\n

Local rights organizations have also denounced the formation of the G9, and have alleged that the alliance is part of a government plan to consolidate control<\/a> in the densely populated capital ahead of yet-to-be-scheduled elections. Cherizier has denied he is working with the Mo\u00efse administration. The Post continued:<\/p>\n

But for his long-suffering countrymen, Cherizier\u2019s G9 is evoking the horrors of the Tontons Macoutes, the government-backed paramilitaries that terrorized Haiti for decades under dictator Fran\u00e7ois \u201cPapa Doc\u201d Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government has said nothing about [Cherizier\u2019s rise], and the international community has turned a blind eye,\u201d said Pierre Esp\u00e9rance, director of Haiti\u2019s National Human Rights Defense Network. \u201cThere is no rule of law anymore. The gangs are the new Macoutes. It feels like there is a manifest will to install a new dictatorship.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

US Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) has condemned Cherizier and the government\u2019s inaction, pointing the finger at the Trump administration\u2019s unconditional support for the Haitian government. \u201cThere is no real concern for the plight of the Haitians, whether they are being beaten and killed by the president of Haiti,\u201d she told The Post. \u201cAs long as the president is in our pockets, everything is okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Haitian National Police-HNP in riot gear throwing gas during recent protests.<\/p><\/div>\n

Michele Sison, the US ambassador to Haiti, pushed back. \u201cRather than pointing fingers,\u201d she told The Post, \u201cour point is to encourage all actors .\u2009.\u2009. to think about the most vulnerable who continue to bear the brunt of these challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a recent report, the National Human Rights Defense Network reported that at least 111 civilians had been killed in gang violence in Cit\u00e9 Soleil in June and July. The December 2019 arrest of Larco, meanwhile, has done little to stem the illegal flow of weapons. In recent weeks, witnesses have seen armed civilians in Cit\u00e9 Soleil carrying automatic weapons that appear to bear the trademark of Carl Martin\u2019s handiwork, raising the possibility that, willingly or not, his guns may be making their way into the hands of civilians. But even as allegations of rights abuses \u2014 and police complicity \u2014 pile up, the US has deepened its support for the HNP.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the State Department notified Congress that it was reallocating $8 million from last year\u2019s budget to support the HNP. Since Trump took office, the US has nearly quadrupled its support to Haiti\u2019s police \u2014 from $2.8 million in 2016 to more than $12.4 million last year. With the recent reallocation, the figure this year will likely be even higher. US funding for the Haitian police constitutes more than 10 percent of the institution\u2019s overall budget.<\/p>\n

The HNP, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, has been chronically underfunded, and many officers do not even receive regular paychecks. But, in the current environment, ramped up US support for the police is unlikely to improve the rapidly devolving security situation. Rather, continued diplomatic and financial support from the Trump administration is likely to only harden the corrupt networks that perpetuate insecurity \u2014 with potentially deadly political consequences. The State Department award to X-International makes up only a small portion of overall US support to the police, but nevertheless, it is emblematic of the various ways US assistance empowers Haiti\u2019s status quo.<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jake Johnston is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kira Paulemon<\/a> | International Program Intern<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original – cepr.net<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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