House Passes Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1684, the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act. The bill would require the Secretary of State to submit an annual report to Congress regarding the ties between criminal gangs and political and economic elites in Haiti, and impose sanctions on political and economic elites involved in such criminal activities.

Among other things, the report must

1. identify prominent criminal gangs in Haiti,
2. list Haitian political and economic elites that have links to criminal gangs,
3. assess how collusion between Haitian political and economic elites and criminal gangs threatens the Haitian people and U.S. national interests, and
4. assess what actions the governments of the United States and Haiti could take to address those threats.

A companion bill in the Senate S.396 awaits action.

EU Sanctions Action

Friday, the European Council amended its sanctions regime in view of the situation in Haiti, allowing the EU to autonomously impose restrictive measures on individuals and entities responsible for threatening the peace, security or stability of Haiti, or for undermining democracy or the rule of law in Haiti.

Today’s decision sets up the new framework for autonomous EU measures. No individuals or entities are being listed at this stage, in line with EU’s gradual approach. The framework complements the sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council in October 2022.