The United States has described the VIV Ansanm and Gran Grif gangs in Haiti “foreign terrorist organizations”, a decision that follows a trend under President Donald Trump Terrorist designation program against criminal groups in Latin America.
As part of Friday’s announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that the two gangs have spread violence and chaos in Haiti, where armed groups exercise substantial control over a large part of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
“The age of impunity for those who support violence in Haiti is over,” Rubio said in a statement.
“Haitian gangs, including the VIV Ansanm Coalition and Gran Grif, are the main source of instability and violence in Haiti. They are a direct threat to American national security interests in our region. ”
The Trump administration projected a hard line against criminal groups In Latin America, often connecting these efforts to domestic priorities such as irregular migration and drug trafficking.
In February, the United States also designated eight drug trafficking groups and criminals as “terrorist organizations”, including gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Tren of Aragua And several Mexican drug cartels.
Although these groups carry out acts of violence and intimidation, experts have generally differentiated themselves and traditional “terrorist” organizations which generally have explicit political objectives.
The appointment of “the foreign terrorist organization” makes any member of a given group inadmissible for entry to the United States.
It is also forbidden to offer “material support or resources” to the group – an element of legal danger which could inadvertently penalize individuals in areas where gangs are deeply anchored in the local economy and the government.
But Trump and his allies have sought to increase the bet against criminal organizations and cartels, blaming them for the flow of unhealthy migration and illicit drug trafficking in the United States.
In the past, he and other Republican leaders have even suggested that the United States could perform military strikes On countries like Mexico to deal with the threat of gangs, causing an alarm of any violations of territorial sovereignty.
While American -mexico relations remain strong, criticism fear aggressive movements – including the use of the designation of terrorism for Mexican cartels – could undermine cooperation while the two countries attack organized crime.
In Haiti, the threat of gangs is widespread. For example, the VIV ANSANM coalition, whose name is reflected in “living together”, is supposed to control up to 85% of Port-au-Prince, preventing commercial flights from arriving and restricting the necessary supplies such as food and medicine.
With many Haitian civilians confronted with hunger, movement and violence, criticism fear that the new designation is not even more difficult to send the necessary supplies to the country, given the need to negotiate with the gangs.
“The first consequences will be on humanitarian and international cooperation, which is essentially the only thing that prevents the inhabitants of Haiti from Hunger,” said the Associated Press Romain Le Court, an expert with the global initiative against transnational organized crime.
Experts point out that gangs often charge tolls for a movement in and around their territory. The “terrorist” appointment could make payment a criminal offense in the United States.
“He could work as a de facto embargo,” said Jake Johnston, director of international research at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, based in Washington.
“The gangs do enormous control over the country’s trade,” he added. “Doing business with Haiti or Haiti will have a much greater risk.”
The control of gangs in Haiti has increased in recent years, in particular after the assassination in 2021 of President Josenel Moise. His death led to a vacuum of power and no federal election has since been held, eroding public confidence in public institutions.
The gangs used this vacuum cleaner to exercise control. More than a million People have been moved internally by the resulting violence, and the United Nations estimate that 5.7 million residents – almost half of the country – do not have enough food to eat.
Kenya has led an international security mission supported by the UN responsible for strengthening local police as they fight the gangs. But this mission depends strongly on American support, some of which have frozen since its entry into office.
This working group has struggled to have an impact so far, and in February, one of the Kenyan police officers was shot in the mission, its first known death.
The skeptics also questioned the effectiveness of the international group, given the long and disastrous history of foreign interventions In Haiti, including by the United States.
Trump has also tried to remove programs such as temporary protected status (TPS) and humanitarian conditional release that allow Haitians to live legally in the United States. It is estimated that 520,694 Haitians are protected by TP alone. But under Trump, the Ministry of Internal Security plans to fold the TPS program for Haitians by August.
