US slaps sanctions on Haiti gang leader, ex-police officer

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department today announced fresh sanctions against the leader of a Haitian gang in the capital Port-au-Prince, as well as a former police officer once imprisoned over ties to the killing of President Jovenel Moise.

Bel Air gang leader Kempes Sanon and Dimitri Herard, who headed security at the National Palace at the time of Moise’s assassination and left prison during a major jailbreak last year, are barred from any assets or transactions in the U.S.

 

Haitian police and gangs have been locked in a years-long conflict that has seen violent criminal groups take control of most of the capital and expand to other parts of the country, displacing over 1.3 million people and killing thousands.

While efforts to support Haiti’s police with an international force have largely stalled, countries have imposed unilateral sanctions on perceived financial backers that aim to stem outside funding for arms trafficking.

However, analysts have warned that sanctions on individuals without assets in that country have limited impact.

 

KEY QUOTES

“Since his escape from prison in 2024, Herard has colluded with the Viv Ansanm (gang) alliance and provided support to many of the gang leaders with training and firearms,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.

“Sanon and his gang have been involved in indiscriminate civilian killings, extortion, illicit taxation, and kidnappings in Haiti,” it added, saying he has played “a significant role in the consolidation of power of Viv Ansanm.”

 

CONTEXT

Sanon leads the Bel Air gang, which controls a part of downtown Port-au-Prince that has seen some of the worst violence, including a series of massacres perpetrated by an alliance of gangs led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier.

The area had historically resisted Cherizier’s alliance, now known as Viv Ansanm, but after Sanon took control, he joined it.

Herard has, since his 2024 escape, faced rumors of involvement in drug trafficking, a key source of funding for gangs, but has in recent video messages denied these accusations.