Key Haitian gangs now terror groups, U.S. embassy warns

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti on Tuesday warned that there were consequences for being a recognized terror group. State Secretary Marco Rubio formally designated the Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif gangs in Haiti as terror groups on Friday. The gangs triggered instability and violence across Haiti, hoping to create a gang-controlled state to allow illicit trafficking and other criminal activities, Rubio said. Criminal gangs last year seized control of the capital city, overran police stations, and freed over 4,000 inmates from Haiti's two largest prisons.

The groups were already designated as criminal, so does a terror designation really do anything? A terror designation legally gives officials more power and avenues to combat the groups. Gang members and non-members aiding the gangs will be subject to counterterrorism sanctions, which include U.S. citizens. Individuals or entities offering material support to Viv Ansanm or Gran Grif could face criminal charges and possible removal from the United States, the State Department noted.

How many people have suffered in Haiti from gang violence? Gang violence has killed more than 2,500 people within the first three months of 2024 alone, according to the United Nations. More than 1,700 people were killed in gang attacks in the last four months of 2024 alone, with over 400 more injured, a February UN report showed. Nearly 100 women and girls were raped and exploited in the last quarter of 2024, and kidnappings rose by 150% throughout 2024 with gangs increasingly targeting children, the report added. The Gran Grif gang specifically made headlines last October for storming a western Haitian town and murdering at least 70 villagers, including three infants.  Nearly a year ago, a U.S. husband and wife team serving at a Haiti mission, and another mission worker were killed by a gang in Port-au-Prince.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s recent report on a UN official describing Haiti as on the verge of total collapse.