There is debate on whether using sanctions is a strategic or harmful foreign policy strategy. US administrations increasingly deploy this tactic to push a certain political agenda or thwart a purported security threat. There is growing evidence that points to the harmful and destabilizing nature of broad-based sanctions, especially on the everyday population of the impacted country (source). In the realm of foreign policy tactics, sanctions are touted as lower-stakes and lower-risk than engaging in full-scale war or diplomatic negotiations (source). While some sanctions are embedded in laws passed by the US Congress, most sanctions are implemented by executive actions signed by the president. The ease with which sanctions can be implemented has led to their overzealous use, and their reasons for deployment are often not well-developed or clear.
The longstanding sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, for instance, have failed spectacularly in achieving their stated policy goal of ousting their respective governments (source), even if one supports regime change as an appropriate foreign policy goal. Meanwhile, these broad-based sanctions severely impact small producers, whole sectors of the local economy, and contribute to people emigrating from these countries (source). Sanctioned governments also use sanctions to point the finger at the USA as the imperialist culprit for their weakened economies. And they are not wrong. The Quixote Center generally does not support regime change as a foreign policy goal or this type of broad-based use of sanctions as they impact the most vulnerable communities and working families (source).
How, then, does this compare to the proposed sanctions in the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act? The Quixote Center supports and advocates for this Act, as it leverages sanctions for targeted individuals known to be financing criminal gangs and thus fueling the illegal trafficking of arms from the US to Haiti. This Act would not implement sanctions on an entire industry or sector, and is not aimed at regime change. The US Department of State would work with federal agencies and the intelligence community to create an explicit list of “all known gang leaders and political and economic elites who have direct and significant ties to gang networks” (source).
Historic use of sanctions has eroded faith in this tool. While it is unwise (and unjust) to apply sanctions to entire sectors of an economy, carefully targeting identified actors by freezing their assets and bank accounts is part of an effective strategy to halt arms trafficking to Haiti. The ultimate aim is to bring peace, stability and sovereignty back to the people of Haiti.
We encourage you to join our action and ask your congressional representative to co-sponsor this bill.
Sources:
CFR Backgrounder: What are Economic Sanctions?: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-are-economic-sanctions
Sanctions Kill Campaign – Toolkit: https://sanctionskill.org/sanctions-presentation-toolkit/
Report: The Human Consequences of Economic Sanctions: https://cepr.net/publications/the-human-consequences-of-economic-sanctions/
National Immigration Forum, The Reasons Behind the Increased Migration from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua: https://immigrationforum.org/article/the-reasons-behind-the-increased-migration-from-venezuela-cuba-and-nicaragua/
Quixote Center Applauds Bipartisan Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act: https://quixote.org/posts/quixote-center-applauds-bipartisan-haiti-criminal-collusion-transparency-act
Miami Herland, U.S. lawmakers want mandatory sanctions, reporting on Haiti as gang violence worsens: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article306976306.html#storylink=cpy
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