Trump Admin Lists Haitian Gangs as Terror Groups

The Trump administration on Friday designated a coalition of Haitian gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, including one whose allies have been wreaking havoc on the capital Port-au-Prince.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the Viv Ansanm coalition and Gran Grif gang "are the primary source of instability and violence in Haiti" and "a direct threat to U.S. national security interests in our region."

"These gangs have killed and continue attacking the people of Haiti, Haitian security forces and Multinational Security Support mission personnel and are committed to overthrowing the government of Haiti," Rubio said. The U.N. Security Council authorized the MSS mission, led by Kenya and financed by the U.S., in October 2023 to address escalating gang violence in Haiti and reestablish security.

The gang coalition consists of 27 armed groups that have been coordinating and conducting attacks on multiple fronts in Haiti at once, the Miami Herald reported. Gran Grif is the largest and most powerful gang in Haiti's Artibonite region located north of the capital. The gang is behind several massacres, including a retaliatory attack that killed at least 115 residents in the rural town of Pont-Sondé in October.

Haiti's capital has been on the brink of falling to members of the Viv Ansanm coalition, which now controls up to 90% of metropolitan Port-au-Prince, the Herald reported. The group formed in September 2023 between factions of the G-9 alliance led by former police officer Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier and Vitel'homme Innocent, who is among the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives. A sanctions notice by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control lists Viv Ansanm and mentions among its allies the G-9 Fami e Alye gang headed by Chérizier.

Gang members also are responsible for the deaths of several Haitian police officers and two members of the Kenyan mission. This year, 12 Haiti National Police officers have been killed by gangs, and one remains missing, the Herald reported, citing statistics kept by the National Human Rights Defense Network. Seven members of Haiti's fledgling army have also been killed by gangs.

"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."

"Engaging in transactions with members of these groups entails risk in relation to counterterrorism sanctions authorities, not only for Haitians but also for U.S. lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens. Individuals and entities providing material support or resources to Viv Ansanm or Gran Grif could face criminal charges and inadmissibility or removal from the United States."

A senior U.S. official told the Herald that the administration is considering deporting affiliates in the U.S. to El Salvador's CECOT maximum security prison. It is the same prison where the administration has sent several hundred illegal immigrants and suspected members of the ruthless Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua following President Donald Trump's executive order invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.

María Isabel Salvador, the United Nations' special representative for Haiti and head of the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, told the Security Council last week that Haiti is nearing "a point of no return" as gangs expand territorial control, and state authority erodes. She described a dramatic deterioration in Haiti's security, with more than 1,000 people killed and 60,000 displaced in just two months.