The United States has imposed sanctions on Haiti’s former president, Michel Joseph Martelly, over alleged drug trafficking, citing his significant role in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in the country.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said Martelly “abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States”.
The department said Martelly, who served as president of the Caribbean nation between 2011 and 2016, also worked with Haitian drug traffickers, sponsored multiple gangs and engaged in the laundering of illicit drug proceeds.
Treasury’s Acting Under Secretary, Bradley Smith, stated that the sanctions highlight the destabilizing role of corrupt political elites in Haiti’s crisis.
She added that the US, along with international partners, aims to disrupt those facilitating drug trafficking, corruption, and other illicit activities fueling gang violence and political instability.
The sanctions freeze Martelly’s US assets and prohibit Americans from dealing with him.
This echoes similar moves from the Canadian government, which imposed sanctions in 2022 against Martelly and two other former prime ministers, accusing them of profiting from armed gangs.
Haiti faces a dire situation, with gang wars displacing over 578,000 people, with nearly 5 million facing acute hunger, and 1.6 million at risk of starvation, according to the United Nations.
Armed gangs have formed an alliance, perpetrating widespread killings, ransom kidnappings, and sexual violence.
