US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO1515

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001515 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR HAITI TASK FORCE, WHA/CAR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MARR, PGOV, HA, DR 
SUBJECT: CANARD II: DOMINICAN RIFLES FOR HAITI 
 
 
1.  Secretary of the Armed Forces Soto Jimenez told the press 
on March 5 that the Dominican Republic has received no rpt no 
arms from the USG and commented that the figure of 3,500 
weapons used in questions to WHA Assistant Secretary Roger 
Noriega might correspond to annual licensed imports of arms 
(of all types) for sale by registered gun shops in the 
country. These are not military weapons; they are pistols, 
revolvers, hunting rifles and shotguns (never rifles) for use 
by private security services.  Import permits are issued by 
the military, are monitored by the military and are stored in 
military facilities until released to the authorized dealer. 
He said that recent Dominican military purchases of weapons 
have been limited to Galil rifles (Israel) and P-90 rifles 
(Belgium) for use by Dominican special forces and none were 
unaccounted for. 
 
2.  Embassy records confirm that the USG has not furnished 
any weapons to the Dominican government since 1991 (that case 
was for 1500 pistols).  A current Foreign Military Financing 
(FMF) case will provide 20,000 refurbished M-16 1A rifles but 
none repeat none has yet been delivered; the first shipment 
of 2,300 units is being assembled in the U.S. 
 
3.  As for the weaponry used in Haiti, merchants conversant 
with trade on both sides of the border told Embassy members 
that Guy Philippe and his crew moved through 5 provinces in 2 
days with little or no opposition and in small numbers.  It 
is reported that two or three team members would arrive in a 
town with bullhorns, announce the impending arrival to bring 
out the population, and then Philippe would appear in the 
company of about a dozen men.  We understand that the arms 
used on this movement and in the capture of Gonaives were 
largely shotguns, hunting rifles, and pistols. 
 
4.  Rumor indicates that many of Haiti's illicit weapons, 
especially the more sophisticated ones, enter through 
narcotics trafficking circuits from South or Central America. 
HERTELL