The US Treasury Department says Michel Joseph Martelly “abused his influence” to facilitate drug trafficking into the United States.
The United States has imposed sanctions on former Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly for alleged drug trafficking, accusing him of playing a major role in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in the country.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement Tuesday that 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 from 2011 to 2016, also worked with Haitian drug traffickers, sponsored multiple gangs and participated in laundering money from illicit drug trafficking.
“Today's action against Martelly underscores the significant and destabilizing role that he and other corrupt political elites have played in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in Haiti,” Acting Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in the statement.
“The United States, together with our international partners, is committed to dismantling those who facilitate drug trafficking, corruption, and other illicit activities that fuel horrific gang violence and political instability.”
Tuesday’s move freezes all of Martelly’s U.S. assets and generally bars Americans from doing business with him. It resembles similar moves by the Canadian government, which imposed sanctions in 2022 against Martelly and two other former prime ministers, accusing them of profiting from armed gangs.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has long been wracked by gang violence, but conditions worsened dramatically in February when armed groups forced then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.
Criminal groups control about 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and residents say they have faced threats of murder, rape and kidnapping for ransom.
Hundreds of Kenyan police officers have been deployed to Haiti as part of an international effort to bring stability to the country torn by political, social and economic chaos.
Gang wars have displaced more than 578,000 Haitians, while nearly 5 million – almost half of the population of 11.7 million – face acute hunger, with 1.6 million of those people at risk of starvation, according to the United Nations.
