Dominican Republic seizes weapons and thousands of cartridges destined for Haiti via Miami

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities in the Dominican Republic said Tuesday that they seized 36,000 cartridges, 23 firearms and more than two dozen rifle and pistol chargers from a Miami shipment destined for Haiti.

Agents also confiscated a submachine gun and a charger for a .50-caliber rifle, according to a statement from the Dominican customs office.

Dominican officials said the investigation is ongoing and that they are working with agencies including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They noted that Dominican agents recently seized 37 weapons at the same port in the Santo Domingo capital.

The seizures come as gang violence in neighboring Haiti surges across the capital, Port-au-Prince, forcing 25,000 people to flee in the past two weeks, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Last year, more than 5,600 people were reported killed across Haiti, with gang violence leaving more than one million people homeless in recent years, according to the U.N.

Illegal firearms were blamed for an increase or a record number of killings in the Caribbean last year. An estimated 90% of weapons used in the region were smuggled in from the U.S., according to U.S. officials.

On Tuesday, police in Jamaica said they charged a truck driver from Columbus, Georgia with trafficking prohibited weapons after agents on the island seized 66 firearms and more than 4,500 rounds of ammunition at a port in the capital, Kingston, last month. The suspect is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Jamaica, where he was arrested.

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