08/30/2025
Our Lady Queen of Peace Haiti Committee is proud to be one of the 96 organizations which signed the following letter to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State to end illegal weapons trafficking to Haiti, which not only allows gangs to terrorize communities, but undermines stabilization efforts in Haiti such as long-term governance solutions and security reforms.
“Stop Illegal Weapons Trafficking to Haiti
August 26, 2025
The Honorable Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
The Honorable Kristi Noem
Secretary of Homeland Security
2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE
Washington, D.C. 20528
CC: Ambassador Henry T. Wooster
Dear Secretary Rubio and Secretary Noem:
We, the undersigned 96 organizations, are writing to express our support for the August 1, 2025 Congressional letter led by Representative Cherfilus-McCormick and Ranking Member Meeks and signed by 32 Members of Congress addressing the urgent issue of illegal arms trafficking to Haiti.
We call on you to take immediate action to stop the trafficking of guns to Haiti. The United States must do everything in its power to prevent Haiti, a mere 90-minute flight from Miami, from becoming a fully-fledged failed state run by criminal gangs, and an intermediary for drug and weapons smuggling in the hemisphere. Criminal gangs now control over 90% of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as other large swaths of territory, terrorizing civilians with kidnappings, sexual violence, and indiscriminate killings. Gang sieges and arson attacks have internally displaced 1.3 million people, half of them children.
We urge you to take the following steps to safeguard U.S. national security, protect innocent Haitian civilians, and address the underlying causes of Haiti’s instability and migration by disrupting the flow of illicit fi****ms and ammunition from the United States to Haiti:
● Increase U.S. Customs and Border Protection resources dedicated to screening the contents of ships exiting via the Miami River, a primary starting point for firearm shipments to Haiti.
● Work with the Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, To***co, Fi****ms, and Explosives (ATF) to implement a strategy to increase the number of illicit fi****ms recovered in Haiti that are submitted for tracing, similar to the work done recovering crime guns in Mexico.
● Take steps to require identity verification for all individuals sending packages to Haiti with a declared value under $2,500, in order to close a key loophole exploited to ship fi****ms and ammunition.
● Initiate an interagency strategy, together with the Commerce Department, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice, to increase resources to stop the illegal flow of arms from the United States to the Caribbean. This strategy should include collecting and reporting to Congress and to the public data about arms export trends, arms trafficking trends, efforts to disrupt illegal firearm exports, and data on prosecutions of illicit arms trafficking to the Caribbean.
● Work closely with authorities in the Dominican Republic to stop arms trafficking through its territory to Haiti.
● Work with the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act to hold accountable Haitian actors connected to weapons trafficking.
Gang violence in Haiti is fueled by American-made weapons. Although more is needed from the international community and from Haitian leadership to solve the country’s security crisis, getting arms and ammunition out of the hands of criminal gangs is the most constructive and efficient initial step the United States can take to bring security to Haiti, and to improve U.S. security as a result.
We thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Quixote Center
Haitian Bridge Alliance
American Jewish World Service
Mennonite Central Committee
The Episcopal Church
Nuns Against Gun Violence
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) Office of Public Witness
Pax Christi USA
Stop US Arms to Mexico
OPODAH – Faith in Action International Haiti
The United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society
Church World Service
Newtown Action Alliance
Roots of Development
Global Exchange
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Family Action Network Movement (FANM)
Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ansara Family Fund
United Methodist Church
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Groupe d'Appii au Développement et à la Démocratie (GRADE)
Friends Committee on National Legislation
The University of Fondwa USA, Inc
Friends of PROFAMIL Haiti
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Justice Team Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
Dominican Sisters of Sparkill
Felician Sisters of North America
Adorers of the Blood of Christ US Region JPIC office
Presentation Sisters of San Francisco, CA
Mercy Beyond Borders
Sisters of Charity of New York
Sisters of St. Joseph Faith and Ecology Group
JPIC Committee, Sisters of IHM, Scranton, PA
Dominican Sisters of Hope
Sisters of the Humility of Mary
Passionists International
Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston
Dominican Sisters of Peace
Sisters of the Divine Compassion
Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, New York
Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, Holy Name Province
Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia
Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati
Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth
Dominican Sisters of Adrian
Justice, Peace, & Integrity of Creation Committee, Dominican Sisters, Springfield, IL
School Sisters of Notre Dame, Central Pacific Province
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-theWoods Indiana
St. Patrick and St Anthony Catholic Church Church, Hartford, CT
Park Slope United Methodist Church Social Action Committee, Brooklyn, NY
Progress Room Inc
Community Coalition for Haiti
Creative Exchanges Initiative
Youthaiti
Franciscan Justice Circle Mid-Hudson Valley, NY
Caring for Haitian Orphans with AIDS, Inc
Pax Christi Hudson Valley, NY
Safer Country
Seeds of Hope for Haiti Inc.
Pax Christi New York State
Pax Christi New Jersey
Partners in Progress
Alternative Chance
Li Li Li Read
Stand for Democracy
Environmental Justice Initiative for Haiti
Haiti Nursing Foundation
Haiti Health Network
Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence
St Katherine Drexel Catholic Church, Frederick, MD
St.Michael and St. Peter Church, Syracuse, NY 13215
Our Lady Queen of Peace Haiti Committee, Arlington, VA
Helping Hugs Inc
Raising Haiti Foundation
Pax Christi Florida
Franciscan Action Network
Franciscan Peace Center, Clinton, IA
International Presentation Association
Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary NGO
Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
Religious of Jesus and Mary
Haitian-American Collaborative, Inc
Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception
Sisters of Saint Francis
Congregations of Saint Joseph
Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa Peace and Justice Office
Sisters of Charity Federation
Sisters of Divine Providence
Little Sisters of the Assumption
Haitian Support Center”
You can click here (https://quixote.org/action #/) to take action to curtain the power of Haiti’s gangs by urging your congress person and senators to support the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act which directs sanctions at Haiti’s political and economic elites who finance gangs and profit from gang violence.
