On May 2 the United States Department of State designated Haiti’s most powerful gangs, the Viv Ansanm gang coalition and the Gran Grif gang, as foreign terrorist organizations and “specially designated global terrorists.” Gran Grif is the most powerful gang in the Artibonite department, which is the location of the commune of Gros Morne and Quixote Center’s long term partners. Viv Ansanm operates in Port-au-Prince and has been responsible for terrorizing the population and attacks on infrastructure, such as the airport. These US counter-terrorism measures bar members of the designated gangs from accessing financial institutions with a US link, and block their access to US property and visas. US citizens are prohibited from conducting business with designated persons, meaning people who have been identified as gang members, or they risk criminal charges and secondary sanctions.
We appreciate the attempt of the US government to curtail the power of Haiti’s gangs, but this is not the way to do it. Gangs are in control of roads throughout the country, where they extort tolls from literally everyone for safe passage. In order to survive, travel to their farm fields or schools, or take products to market, regular people have to pay tolls to gangs. Similarly, NGOs, churches, and other non-profit entities have to pay tolls to get humanitarian assistance to where it is needed most. They don’t have any choice. Quixote Center, along with all of the other humanitarian groups working in Haiti, is concerned that these counter-terrorism measures could ensnare innocent people and organizations.
Access to banking services is another concern. The threat of criminal charges and the lack of clarity about who is and who is not a gang member, could lead banks and other financial institutions, such as Western Union or MoneyGram, to cease doing business in Haiti. Without the ability to transfer funds, outside humanitarian assistance ends. US policy allows for exemptions from sanctions regimes, including those for terrorist activity, for certain humanitarian activities; however none of the statements related to the Haiti designations have clarified whether those exemptions will apply or how to obtain an exemption.
The US government has used the foreign terrorist designation, when applied to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, as an excuse to round up Venezuelan migrants in the United States and expel them to El Salvadoran gulags without due process. Because there was no legal hearing before expulsion, there is no proof one way another about whether the people who were expelled were actually members of a gang. Innocent people should not have to live in fear of expulsion just because they are Venezuelan, or in this case, Haitian.
There are better ways to curtail the power of Haiti’s gangs:
- End illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition from the United States to Haiti. You can sign our petition to Department of Homeland Security here. In the coming weeks we will also invite your support for congressional action.
- Targeted sanctions aimed at Haiti’s political and economic elites who finance gangs and benefit from gang violence. The bipartisan Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act addresses this issue, and has already been introduced in the House. We expect a Senate version shortly, at which time we will provide an opportunity for you to send letters to your Members of Congress in support of the bill.
- Continue financial support for economic development programs that provide sustainable paths out of poverty and desperation for Haiti’s population. People, especially young people, join armed groups when they have few other options for earning a living and supporting their families.
Quixote Center is working to make progress on all three of these points. We thank you for your support. We cannot do this work without it.
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