PORT-AU-PRINCE — A UN Panel of Experts on Haiti has reported that hundreds of rounds of ammunition were diverted from Dominican Republic police stockpiles in 2024. Much of the smuggled arms was allegedly sold in border areas and later traced to gangs in Haiti, including 400 Mawozo and groups operating in Bel-Air, according to the experts.
In its Sept. 8 report, released last week by the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), the panel said that the discovery followed an investigation that began after authorities seized several crates containing 5,000 rounds of 5.56 × 45 mm ammunition in Mirebalais in 2024. Dominican authorities then inventoried their police stockpiles and discovered that 908,001 rounds of ammunition had been diverted.
In the 94-page report, the UN Panel of Experts on Haiti said it could not determine exactly how much of the diverted ammunition reached Haiti. Security authorities in the neighboring DR indicated to investigators that the bulk of these supplies was likely transported across the border, given that local armed groups heavily rely on those specific calibers.
“It is difficult to accurately estimate how much of the material reached Haiti,” the UN experts said. “However, some Dominican security experts explained that, given the relatively limited market for 5.56 × 45 mm and 7.62 × 39 mm ammunition in the [DR], most of the material was likely transported to Haiti, where these two calibers are among the main types used by gangs.”
The findings add to evidence that ammunition is reaching Haitian armed groups through multiple routes, including diversion from Dominican Republic security force stockpiles.
Investigation links ammunition seized from Haitian gangs to Dominican military supplies
During inspections in February 2026, the Panel of Experts examined ammunition seized from gangs in Haiti and found several types of rounds bearing the marking “ERD,” which stands for Dominican Republic Forces.
Dominican and Colombian authorities told the experts that the ammunition had been purchased in 2022 under two contracts signed with the Dominican Armed Forces and the Dominican Ministry of Defense, respectively.
“The Dominican Armed Forces follow the good practice of marking their ammunition, which allows for better stock management and helps prevent, detect and investigate diversion,” the UN experts on Haiti said.
Further supporting evidence of Dominican military ammunition reaching gangs in Haiti, the experts cited a December 2025 case in which a second lieutenant in the Dominican Armed Forces was arrested in San Juan de la Maguana with a Haitian national while transporting 1,516 rounds of ammunition by motorcycle.
The experts also said they analyzed a video showing the ‘400 Mawozo’ gang leader Wilson “Lanmo San Jou” Joseph displaying distinctive surplus .50-caliber ammunition. Rounds recovered from the gang in 2026 were identified as having been manufactured in the Dominican Republic in the 1950s.
The Dominican government told the experts that the surplus ammunition was being destroyed and that no diversion had been detected; however, the experts panel found evidence that some of it ended up in the hands of gangs.
The experts said the exact chain of custody of the surplus ammunition remains unclear, noting that quantities of the ammunition, which had previously been imported for the U.S. civilian market, were still available for purchase on collectors’ websites.
“At least 15 of the 32 [.50-caliber] rounds documented by the Panel of Experts were manufactured in the Dominican Republic,” the report said.
Haitian police ammunition was also sold to gangs
The report also found that ammunition from the Haitian National Police (PNH) stockpiles had been diverted and sold to gang groups affiliated with the Viv Ansanm coalition,
During an inventory they conducted of 336 rounds of 7.62 x 51 mm ammunition seized by the police institution from gangs in Bel Air in 2026, 70% came from diverted PNH stockpiles.
“The police have arrested several corrupt officers, some of whom were involved in trafficking arms and ammunition on behalf of Chalè, the leader of the Tokyo gang,” the UN experts said. “Some police officers retrieve unused ammunition and resell it to gangs and self-defense groups.”
The report also documented 5.56 x 45 mm ammunition matching rounds imported by the Haitian Armed Forces (FAD’H) in the possession of gangs and a self-defense group. The Ministry of Defense told the panel in May 2026 that some of the ammunition imported by FAD’H had been transferred to the police.
The experts concluded that the lack of a centralized system for managing seized weapons and ammunition, many of which are not properly recorded, makes it difficult to track the material and creates opportunities for some to be diverted by corrupt officers.
Neither Dominican authorities, the Haitian National Police, nor the Haitian army has publicly responded since the report was released on October 6.
A profitable arms trade keeps weapons flowing to Haiti’s gangs
The UN panel said trafficking of arms and ammunition remains highly profitable in the country, where demand from armed gangs is very high, particularly in Port-au-Prince.
According to the report, prices on the illicit market include:
- Basic 9×19 mm handguns: between $2,000 and $4,000
- 5.56×45 mm semi-automatic rifles: between $5,000 and $8,000
- A 5.56×45 mm round: about $3 per round
The report also cited a July 2026 investigation from Jamaican authorities about drug-for-arms exchanges involving criminal groups operating in Jamaica and Haitian actors. Jamaican authorities told the UN Panel of Experts they seized 51 weapons belonging to the PNH in Jamaica.
These revelations come as residents throughout Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas face severe gang attacks, with several groups openly displaying weapons and ammunition while continuing to carry out deadly attacks against the population. The latest UN figures report that more than 5,700 people were killed in Haiti in 2026, including more than 164 deaths in the two most recent massacres in Kenscoff, among them children.
Despite numerous police operations against gangs in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area— spanning from Tabarre and Kenscoff to Gressier, and in provincial cities such as Mirebalais, Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite and Gros-Morne— the situation remains concerning, with gangs controlling large swaths of territory, including more than 85% of the capital, according to the UN.
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