The US has imposed sanctions on former Haiti President Michel Joseph Martelly after accusing him of abusing his influence to facilitate drug trafficking to the US and sponsoring gangs that contributed to instability in the Caribbean.
WASHINGTON — The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on former Haiti President Michel Joseph Martelly after accusing him of abusing his influence to facilitate drug trafficking to the US and sponsoring gangs that contributed to instability in the Caribbean country.
The Treasury Department’s Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley T. Smith, said the action “highlights the significant and destabilizing role he and other corrupt political elites have played in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in Haiti.”
Haiti is plagued by gang violence as peaceful protesters are tear gas by the police, who are calling on law enforcement to help them stop the gangs that are violently take control of neighborhoods.
Hundreds of police officers from Kenya have arrived Haiti for a Mission supported by the UN led by the East African country to tackle the gangs.
A United Nations Report of July states that gang violence in Haiti has displaced more than 300,000 children since March. Many children are living in makeshift shelters, including schools, in poor sanitary conditions, putting them at increased risk of disease.
Martelly, who was president from 2011 to 2016, was previously sanctioned by the Canadian government in November 2022 for financing gangs.
In January, a Haitian judge has issued an arrest warrant for Martelly and more than 30 other high-ranking officials accused of government corruption, namely embezzlement of funds or equipment related to Haiti’s National Equipment Center.
A State Department official, Vedant Patel, said Tuesday’s sanctions were intended to “promote accountability for all individuals whose activities contribute to gang violence and destabilize the political environment in Haiti, regardless of their rank or status.”
The US uses a December 2021 Executive Order with regard to foreigners involved in drug trafficking, as well as its authority to impose sanctions.
Martelly was not available for comment.