Overview:
U.S. Coast Guard hands over 1.376 tons of marijuana in multiple packages to Haitian police amid rising drug trafficking. The shipment —worth approximately $4 million— was seized by the American water patrol agency from a small boat near Môle Saint-Nicolas in the Northwest, leading to the arrest of a Jamaican national. This is the fourth drug bust across Haiti in less than a month.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — The Haitian National Police (PNH) has taken custody of nearly 1.4 metric tons of marijuana seized by the U.S. Coast Guard off Haiti’s northwestern coast, in one of the largest recent drug interceptions in the country.
The shipment — 1,376 kilograms valued at roughly $3.8 million — was handed over on May 3 to the Haitian National Police’s Anti-Drug Trafficking Brigade (BLTS) following an April 30 maritime operation near Môle Saint-Nicolas in Haiti’s northwest.
Google Maps showing the coastline from Port-au-Prince to Môle Saint-Nicolas.
The seizure is the fourth major drug bust in less than a month, according to authorities, pointing to a sustained flow of narcotics through Haitian territory even as enforcement efforts increase.
U.S. Coast Guard officers intercepted a suspicious vessel carrying dozens of packages of what officials described as compressed marijuana wrapped in plastic. Police said they recovered 66 sacks of the drug.
A Jamaican national, identified as Aldane “Ali” Anderson, was arrested during the operation. The drugs and the suspect were transferred to Haitian authorities in the presence of Cap-Haïtien Examining Judge Samuel Philippaux for judicial processing.
“All evidence, along with the trafficker, is now in the custody of BLTS North for judicial proceedings,” the PNH said in a May 4 statement.
Haiti’s growing role in regional drug routes
The latest seizure highlights Haiti’s increasingly prominent role as a drug transit corridor linking South and Central American producers to markets in the Caribbean, North America and Europe.
Traffickers frequently move cocaine and marijuana through Haiti’s poorly monitored coastlines and remote airstrips, routing shipments onward to destinations including notably the Bahamas, Jamaica and the United States. Some drug shipments are also believed to continue toward Europe via transatlantic routes.
Security analysts and international agencies have long warned that Haiti’s limited state presence, porous borders and worsening instability make it attractive to trafficking networks seeking alternatives to more heavily policed routes.
Haiti has remained on the U.S. drug transit list since 1989, while other countries are added or removed based on shifting trafficking trends
Recent operations suggest the flow is ongoing. In Haiti’s Southern Department, BLTS agents and coast guard officers arrested a suspect, Peterson Lavajesse, on May 2 in Torbeck with two packages of cocaine. Authorities say it was the fourth drug seizure in less than a month in the region.
While Haitian officials point to these operations as progress, experts caution that seizures represent only a fraction of the total volume transiting the country.
The United Nations has also flagged Haiti as a growing hub for narcotics and arms trafficking, with gangs using profits to fuel violence. In September 2025, the U.S. renewed Haiti’s designation as a major drug transit route for a 36th consecutive year.
Haiti’s continued designation as a drug transit hub, experts say, reflects not only geography but also the impunity gangs and traffickers enjoy amid a weak justice system. With limited state control and widespread corruption, international cartels have found Haiti an indispensable node in their trafficking routes.
Himler Rébu, an ex-army colonel and political leader, recently told The Haitian Times that under the influence of the gangs, Haiti has turned more into a narco state.
“This is no longer just about local drug traffickers — it involves a transnational network operating through Haiti’s ports and airspace under gang protection,” said Rébu, leader of the political party Grand Rassemblement pour l’Évolution d’Haïti (GREH).
Security crisis complicates enforcement
Anti-drug efforts are unfolding alongside Haiti’s deepening security crisis, where armed groups control large swaths of territory and complicate law enforcement operations.
The powerful gang coalition known as “Viv Ansanm” has expanded its influence across the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, with estimates suggesting gangs control more than 80% to 90% of the capital.
Police said that on May 1, officers intercepted a vehicle suspected of being used in kidnappings in Pétion-Ville and Delmas. After an exchange of gunfire, the occupants were killed. Authorities seized ammunition, police-style equipment and tactical gear from the vehicle.
Despite such operations, gang violence continues to drive mass displacement and disrupt economic life. More than 1.45 million people are internally displaced, according to recent estimates.
Communities outside the capital are also affected. Towns including Mirebalais, Saut-d’Eau, La Chapelle and parts of the Artibonite region remain under gang influence, with repeated attacks, arson and killings reported.
In Kenscoff, above the hills of southeast Port-au-Prince, authorities said security had improved, but a gang attack on May 1 left two people dead and another missing, underscoring the fragility of gains.
Economic pressure and calls for action
The deteriorating security situation is increasingly alarming business leaders. Several major Haitian companies — including Rhum Barbancourt S.A., Séjourné S.A., Brasserie de la Couronne S.A. and Comme Il Faut S.A. — warned Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé in an April 29 letter about the collapse of security in the Cul-de-Sac plain, a key economic corridor.
“When such a strategic area becomes inaccessible, even to armored vehicles, it signals a breakdown of a vital national space,” the companies wrote.
They urged immediate government action to restore access, secure roads and enable police intervention, warning the zone risks becoming a “lost territory” near Toussaint Louverture International Airport.
