U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s May 2 designation of two Haitian gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) is causing alarm and distress among Haiti experts, humanitarian organizations and some members of Congress because of the implications and uncertainties of implementation and the impact on Haiti’s people. The designation names the Viv Ansanm gang coalition, which now controls most of the capital of Port-au-Prince, and the Gran Grif gang, operating in rural agricultural region of Artibonite, and also adds that any “enablers"—anyone who facilitates the gangs’ activities— will also be subject to sanctions, jailing, deportation, etc.
Who can be labeled an enabler? Some members of Haiti’s elites, including current or former government officials, are known to have gang involvement and many have been sanctioned. The Miami Herald on May 1 cited an unnamed senior U.S. government official who warned that members of these FTOs and their enablers could even be sent to El Salvador’s maximum security prison. How would this be carried out and by whom? As yet there are no U.S. troops in the country. What’s the enforcement mechanism? Haiti expert Jake Johnston of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, suggests this is likely related more to U.S. politics than to Haiti and could serve as a pretext to deport hundreds of thousands of Haitians from the U.S.
