Overview:
The U.S. Division of Treasury has sanctioned former Haitian legislator Prophane Victor and gang chief Luckson Élan for his or her alleged involvement in felony gang actions, resulting in critical human rights violations in Haiti. The sanctions issued beneath Government Order 13818 are primarily based on the Magnitsky Act, which targets people liable for extreme human rights abuses and corruption globally.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — The U.S. Division of the Treasury’s Workplace of Overseas Property Management (OFAC) introduced sanctions Wednesday in opposition to a former member of Haiti’s Chamber of Deputies, Prophane Victor, for his function in supporting and arming gangs within the Artibonite Division. Gang chief Luckson Élan, head of the Gran Grif group, was additionally sanctioned for his involvement in critical felony actions.
In response to OFAC, Victor and Élan’s actions have contributed to extreme human rights violations in Haiti. The sanctions are a part of the Global Magnitsky Act, concentrating on people liable for human rights abuses and corruption worldwide.
A current report by the United Nations Group of Consultants on Haiti linked the previous legislator and the Gran Grif gang chief to escalating violence in a number of communes of the Artibonite area, notably L’estère, Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, Liancourt, Gros-Morne, and terre-Neuve. The report highlighted rampant sexual and gender-based violence, together with rape, as key strategies of gang terror in Haiti.
“Selling accountability for gender-based violence is a prime precedence for the U.S. authorities,” the State Division stated in an announcement reported by the U.S. Embassy in Haiti. “We are going to proceed to make use of the Magnitsky sanctions program to carry perpetrators of those crimes accountable, wherever they’re.”
The U.S. Treasury Division stated the sanctions have been issued beneath Executive Order 13818.
Historical past of sanctions and allegations of gang involvement
Victor, a former deputy for the Petite-Rivière constituency within the Artibonite Division, has been beforehand sanctioned for his alleged function in gang violence. In June 2023, Canada imposed sanctions on Victor and former Artibonite Senator Gracia Delva, banning them from coming into Canadian territory and freezing any property they held in Canada.
These actions have been a part of a broader effort by Canada and the U.S. to focus on Haitian officers and political figures accused of exacerbating the nation’s insecurity. Different sanctioned figures embody former senators Joseph Lambert, Youri Latortue, and Hervé Fourcand, in addition to former Deputies Gary Bodeau and Rony Célestin.
“Even when we will contemplate the sanctions as not critical, it’s a type of incentive to encourage the cooperation of these sanctioned as a way to unblock the state of affairs in Haiti.”
Brian Canconnon, Government Director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH).
Victor has been repeatedly accused of working with gangs in Haiti, significantly in Savien, Artibonite, the place the Gran Grif gang operates. In July 2019, Savien’s former gang chief, often known as Odma, accused Victor of supplying him with firearms and ammunition throughout his marketing campaign for workplace. Victor denied the accusations, and no investigation was launched into the allegations by Haitian authorities.
Local reports on the time indicated that Victor used a police inspector to help Odma’s felony actions throughout his marketing campaign. After the 2015 election, Odma allegedly used the weapons supplied by Victor for his personal functions, resulting in additional violence within the area.
Escalating violence in Artibonite
The Artibonite division has been engulfed by gang violence in recent times, with civilians caught within the crossfire. From April to June 2024, assaults by the Gran Grif and Kokorat San Ras gangs resulted in a minimum of 76 casualties, together with kids, in Gros-Morne, L’Estère, Liancourt, Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite, and Terre Neuve, in response to the United Nations Built-in Workplace in Haiti (BINUH).
Gangs within the area have been concerned in murders, kidnappings, rapes, and looting, destabilizing communities and displacing 1000’s of residents.
The U.S. sanctions in opposition to Victor and Élan come shortly after sanctions have been imposed on former Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly for his alleged involvement in international drug trafficking and his function in Haiti’s safety and political collapse.
“Martelly abused his affect to facilitate the trafficking of harmful medication, together with cocaine, into the US,” the U.S. Treasury stated in an announcement.
Critics of the sanctions argue that they’re ineffective in holding perpetrators accountable, as they don’t result in felony trials. Nevertheless, others consider sanctions are a mandatory software to strain people concerned in Haiti’s disaster.
“Even when we contemplate the sanctions not critical, they incentivize cooperation to resolve the state of affairs in Haiti,” stated Brian Concannon, government director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH).