I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7799 

To provide for an annual report on the prosecution activities of the Coordinator for Caribbean Firearms Prosecutions of the Department of Justice. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2024 

Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK (for herself and Mr. CASTRO of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for an annual report on the prosecution activities 

of the Coordinator for Caribbean Firearms Prosecutions 

of the Department of Justice. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Caribbean Arms Traf5 ficking Causing Harm Act’’ or the ‘‘CATCH Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) According to a 2023 joint report by the 

9 Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for 


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1 Crime and Security (IMPACS) and the Small Arms 

2 Survey, the average number of violent deaths in the 

3 Caribbean is nearly triple the global average. 

4 (2) According to the United Nations Office on 

5 Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in 2021, Caribbean 

6 countries accounted for six of the world’s top ten 

7 highest national murder rates. 

8 (3) Law enforcement officials in Haiti, Antigua 

9 and Barbuda, and Jamaica have identified Florida 

10 as a significant source of illicit firearms. 

11 (4) According to the United Nations, Caribbean 

12 countries do not manufacture firearms or ammuni13 tion, nor do they import them on a large scale. 

14 (5) According to Bahamian officials, over 90 

15 percent of firearms used in homicides and con16 fiscated by authorities in the Bahamas are traced to 

17 manufacturers and retailers in the United States. 

18 (6) In 2022, the Department of Homeland Se19 curity’s Homeland Security Investigations reported 

20 observing a significant increase in the quantity, cal21 iber, and type of firearms being illegally trafficked 

22 to the Caribbean, including .50 caliber sniper rifles, 

23 .308 rifles, and a belt fed machine gun. 

24 (7) According to a 2023 assessment by 

25 UNODC, the flow of illicit firearms into Haiti enVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7799.IH H7799

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1 ables violent gangs and contributes to forced dis2 placement across the country. 

3 (8) According to the Migration Policy Institute, 

4 there has been a dramatic increase in migration to 

5 the United States from Haiti in recent years, caused 

6 in part by widespread gang violence. 

7 (9) On June 25, 2022, President Joe Biden 

8 signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into 

9 law, which created Federal criminal offenses for fire10 arm trafficking and granted the government new au11 thorities to prosecute these offenses. 

12 (10) On November 14, 2022, the IMPACS 

13 launched the Crime Gun Intelligence Unit in part14 nership with United States law enforcement agen15 cies. 

16 (11) Located in Trinidad and Tobago, the 

17 Crime Gun Intelligence Unit provides intelligence for 

18 its member states on illicit firearms and ammuni19 tion. 

20 (12) On June 8, 2023, Vice President Kamala 

21 Harris announced that ‘‘the Department of Justice 

22 will name a Coordinator for Caribbean Firearms 

23 Prosecutions who will be an experienced Department 

24 of Justice prosecutor’’. 


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1 (13) On July 5, 2023, Secretary of State 

2 Antony Blinken announced that Michael Ben’Ary 

3 will serve as the Coordinator for Caribbean Firearms 

4 Prosecutions. 

5 (14) As of October 31, 2023, the Department 

6 of Justice has prosecuted 207 defendants for fire7 arms trafficking, including 80 defendants for mak8 ing straw purchases, using authorities derived from 

9 the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. 

10 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

11 The purposes of this Act include the following: 

12 (1) To combat illicit firearms trafficking from 

13 the United States to the Caribbean. 

14 (2) To bolster the security of the Caribbean re15 gion and the United States. 

16 (3) To increase oversight of the Coordinator for 

17 Caribbean Firearms Prosecutions inside the Depart18 ment of Justice. 

19 SEC. 4. REPORT ON THE PROSECUTIONS ACTIVITIES OF 

20 THE COORDINATOR FOR CARIBBEAN FIRE21 ARMS PROSECUTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

22 OF JUSTICE. 

23 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro24 priate congressional committees’’ means— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

2 House of Representatives; 

3 (2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

4 House of Representatives; 

5 (3) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

6 House of Representatives; 

7 (4) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

8 Senate; 

9 (5) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen10 ate; and 

11 (6) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

12 Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter 

15 for 5 years, the Attorney General, in coordination with the 

16 Secretary of State, and any other agency determined nec17 essary by the Attorney General, shall submit a report to 

18 the appropriate congressional committees that includes, 

19 for the previous year— 

20 (1) a comprehensive review of the enforcement 

21 of sections 932 and 933 of title 18, United States 

22 Code, by the Coordinator for Caribbean Firearms 

23 Prosecutions of the Department of Justice; and 

24 (2) specifies— 


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1 (A) the total number of investigations and 

2 prosecutions launched by the Coordinator for 

3 Caribbean Firearms Prosecutions, 

4 disaggregated by— 

5 (i) the judicial district involved; 

6 (ii) the alleged destination of the fire7 arm, ammunition, and firearm accessories, 

8 as applicable; 

9 (iii) the number and types of firearms, 

10 ammunition, and firearm accessories, to 

11 the extent the information is available; and 

12 (iv) the method of transportation of 

13 the firearm, ammunition, and firearm ac14 cessories, to the extent the information is 

15 available; 

16 (B) coordination efforts of the Department 

17 of Justice with the Department of State, the 

18 Department of Homeland Security, and any 

19 other Federal, State, or local law enforcement 

20 agencies; and 

21 (C) coordination efforts of the Department 

22 of Justice with the Caribbean Crime Gun Intel23 ligence Unit of the Carribean Community (com24 monly referred to as ‘‘CARICOM’’), and any 


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1 other regional or international organizations de2 termined necessary by the Secretary of State. 

Æ 


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