PORT-AU-PRINCE -- The arms control debate arrived in Haiti on Monday as members of a regional trade bloc sought the United States’ help in ensuring that an international treaty aimed at regulating the $70 billion global arms trade includes a provision for small arms.
The issue was among several vexing crime and security concerns raised during a closed-door discussion with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who attended a summit of the 15-member Caribbean Community, known as Caricom, before flying to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands Monday afternoon.
This is the first time since Haiti joined the mostly English-speaking trade bloc in 2002 that a Haitian president has hosted a Caricom summit and served as the trade bloc’s chairman.