US imposes sanctions on former Haitian president over drug trafficking – DNyuz

The United States has imposed sanctions on former Haitian President Michel Martelly over drug trafficking and money laundering, according to a statement released Tuesday by the U.S. Treasury Department, accusing him of contributing to destabilization and unrest in the Caribbean country.

Mr. Martelly, who was president of Haiti from 2011 to 2016, “abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States,” the Treasury Department said. He also “sponsored multiple gangs in Haiti,” the statement said. The sanctions prohibit U.S. financial institutions from making loans or extending credit to Mr. Martelly.

“Today’s action against Martelly underscores the significant and destabilizing role he and other corrupt political elites have played in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in Haiti,” Bradley T. Smith, acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement.

The government of Mr Martelly, a 63-year-old popular musician known as “Sweet Micky”, has been accused of widespread corruption, including embezzlement of about $2 billion worth of aid from Venezuela – though he never faced any charges in Haiti.

In 2022, he was sanctioned by the Canadian government, which also accused him of profiting from armed gangs.

A United Nations sanctions report in September 2023 singled out Mr. Martelly for political corruption and gang ties. The report said that during his presidency, he “used gangs to extend his influence into neighborhoods to advance his political agenda, contributing to a legacy of insecurity whose effects are still being felt today.”

Haiti has been plagued by gang violence since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which left a political vacuum. This year, a coordinated offensive by armed gangs in the capital, Port-au-Prince, led to the fall of the government and the appointment of a transitional council in April and an interim prime minister in May.

About 400 Kenyan police officers were deployed to Haiti this summer after the United Nations authorized a multinational security assistance mission, largely funded by the United States, to help understaffed local police restore law, order and security.

The gangs still control large swaths of the capital, parts of which resemble a war zone where civilians are being murdered, raped and kidnapped for ransom. In July alone, there were 547 victims of murder and injury from gang-related violence, according to the UN, a 35 percent increase since the arrival of the Kenyan-led force.

According to Cluster Protection Haiti, a joint effort by Haiti and the UN to address threats to civilians, there has also been an increase in sexual and gender-based violence and children are increasingly being used by gangs to carry out criminal activities.

The United States has imposed sanctions on gang leaders and politicians, including a former prime minister. But Mr. Martelly, the former president who handpicked Mr. Moïse as his successor and had considerable influence over his government, is the most prominent Haitian official publicly listed on a sanctions list.

Former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe was sanctioned by the United States in June 2023 for allegedly embezzling $60 million in Haitian government funds. Mr. Lamothe lived in Miami but is not a U.S. resident. He left the United States at one point and has been barred from returning since the sanctions were announced.

His Florida lawyer, Richard Dansoh, said it was unclear whether the sanctions would affect Mr Martelly, who is a U.S. citizen and lives in Miami. He said he was surprised by Tuesday’s news.

“It came out of nowhere,” Mr. Dansoh said, adding that Mr. Martelly recently hired a lawyer specializing in sanctions to help monitor his potential legal exposure in the United States. Mr. Dansoh said he had not yet spoken to his client. He said he had spoken to Mr. Martelly’s wife, Sophia Martelly, who was in shock. “She’s wondering what the next steps are,” he said.

The story US imposes sanctions on former Haiti president over drug trafficking first appeared on New York Times.