Haiti's police chief urges global cooperation against arms trafficking at UN summit
At UNCOPS 2026, PNH Director General André Jonas Vladimir Paraison called for stronger international action against the illicit arms flows fueling Haiti's gangs.
Haiti's National Police (PNH) has called for stronger international cooperation to curb the illegal arms trafficking driving the country's security crisis, Le Nouvelliste reports. Speaking July 9 at the fifth UN Summit of Police Chiefs (UNCOPS 2026), PNH Director General André Jonas Vladimir Paraison denounced the continued flow of weapons to armed groups despite an existing embargo, and likened the gangs' tactics to those of terrorist organizations. He argued that Haiti's crisis is sustained by transnational networks engaged in arms trafficking, drug trafficking and money laundering, and pressed for reinforced cooperation 'to fight illicit arms trafficking and transnational criminal networks.' The appeal comes as Haitian authorities seek expanded international support to counter gang violence.