US State Department Declares 2 Haitian Gangs as Terrorist Organizations 👉 Updatem News

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the ‘gangs are a primary source of instability’ in the country.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday designated two Haitian gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, as they move to control the Haitian capital city of Port-au-Prince, he said. The action comes just months after the designation was applied to several other groups based in Mexico, Venezuela, and El Salvador.

The two gangs, Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, are a “primary source of instability and violence in Haiti” and are a “direct threat to U.S. national security interests in our region,” Rubio said in a statement, adding that they are “committed to overthrowing the government of Haiti.”

Both were declared as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists, he said. The Treasury Department also applied the designation to Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, which in October took responsibility for a massacre of at least 115 people in the agricultural town of Pont-Sonde.

“Their ultimate goal is creating a gang-controlled state where illicit trafficking and other criminal activities operate freely and terrorize Haitian citizens,” Rubio said. “Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against these vicious groups and are an effective way to curtail support for their terrorist activities.”

The statement said that people or entities who provide material support to either gang may face criminal charges or removal from the United States. Individuals and entities, including U.S. citizens or permanent residents, who engage in transactions with the groups could also face counterterrorism sanctions.

Haiti has long been considered one of the poorest countries in the world and the poorest in the Western hemisphere, based on gross domestic product and other metrics.

The longstanding gang conflict in Haiti has met with little international response, while neighboring countries have continued to deport illegal immigrants back to the Caribbean nation.

The country has seen a spike in gang violence in recent years after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in mid-2021. More than 1 million people have been displaced, with tens of thousands more in recent weeks, as the violence has spread to central Haiti, forcing more health facilities to shut their doors and pushing more people into severe food insecurity.

“These gangs have killed and continue attacking the people of Haiti, Haitian security forces, and Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission personnel,” Rubio said.

He said the U.S. government “stands with the Haitian people as they seek a secure, stable future for their country and citizens,” and that all of Haiti’s political leaders should attempt to ensure public safety and find a way to stop the violence.

According to a United Nations report released this week, between Jan. 1 and March 31, at least 1,617 people were killed and 580 others were injured in violence involving Haitian gangs, other groups, and members of the population. Meanwhile, at least 161 kidnappings or ransom were recorded, it said.

Currently, the State Department lists Haiti as “Level 4–Do Not Travel” due to kidnappings, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care, noting that since March 2024, the country has been under a state of emergency.

Friday’s designation comes about two months after the Trump administration declared Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, El Salvador’s MS-13, and several Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. Later, President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan illegal immigrants who are alleged to be gang members to El Salvador. The action drew a number of legal challenges.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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