US offers up to $3 million bounty for information on finances of powerful Haiti gangs

Reuters

US offers up to $3 million bounty for information on finances of powerful Haiti gangs

By Harold Isaac and Sarah Morland
2 min read

FILE PHOTO: Members of the Haitian Armed Forces patrol the area as people flee homes following the armed gangs violence over the weekend, many grouped behind an alliance known as Viv Ansanm, at the Poste Marchand suburb, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File Photo

By Harold Isaac and Sarah Morland

PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. on Wednesday offered a reward of up to $3 million and possible relocation in exchange for ‌information on the financial activities of Haiti’s Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif criminal ‌groups.

Washington has designated both groups, which bring together hundreds of gangs in the capital Port-au-Prince, agricultural Artibonite region and ​central Haiti, as terrorist organizations.

Advertisement

The U.S. announcement marks a shift in tactics as previous bounties have been focused on individual gang leaders.

Haitian security forces, with the support of a partially-deployed U.N.-backed force and a U.S. private military company, have intensified attacks on armed gangs that control most of ‌the capital, but have yet ⁠to make a major gang leader’s arrest.

Once dependent on sponsorship from elites, Haiti’s gangs have grown more economically independent as they cemented control over the ⁠capital and extended to rural areas in recent years.

Besides controlling roads and checkpoints, they are accused of collecting funds through extortion, thousands of ransom kidnappings, gun, drug and organ trafficking, and theft of ​vehicles, buildings ​and crops.

Advertisement

More than a million people have been ​displaced by the conflict with gangs, ‌which has exacerbated food insecurity, and close to 20,000 have been reported killed in Haiti since 2021. The death toll has climbed every year.

According to the U.N., most gang killings are the result of firearms brought illegally into the country, with many believed to come through U.S. ports in Florida and Georgia.

According to a report released on Wednesday by Mercy Corps, ‌which surveyed thousands of displaced people across the capital ​Port-au-Prince, 99% had no job or income after being ​displaced and 95% felt unsafe in ​their new lodgings.

Less than half had access to a functioning toilet and ‌the vast majority were eating less than ​two meals a day. ​Just a third of children were attending school and a third of women said they had suffered physical or sexual violence at the displacement site, the report found.

Advertisement

The ​U.N. estimated 1.45 million people ‌were internally displaced across Haiti by the end of last year, with more ​than 400,000 displaced in the last year alone.

(Reporting by Harold Isaac and Sarah ​Morland; Editing by Iñigo Alexander and Bill Berkrot)

Oscar De La Hoya hopes Senate speech helps derail TKO-backed controversial Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act
Uncrowned
NYT Connections hints today for #1,020: Clues and answers for Friday, March 27
Yahoo Tech
Phillies 3B Alec Bohm reportedly sues his parents for $3 million, alleging they funneled away money while managing his finances
Yahoo Sports
Kyler Murray-Vikings marriage isn’t the cleanest fit ever, but there’s intrigue and potential abound
Yahoo Sports
NFL Draft RB prospect deep dive: Love THAT special? Who’s RB2? Sleepers? + Jonah Coleman interview
Yahoo Sports
Sonny Styles leads LBs group in 2026 NFL Draft class: Insights from ‘Football 301’
Yahoo Sports
Amazon’s selling a $130 Samsonite suitcase for just $74 (and 9 more fab deals)
Yahoo Shopping
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae will soon accept crypto-backed homebuying loans
Yahoo Finance
2026 NFL Draft rankings: linebackers, cornerbacks & safeties
Yahoo Sports
Trump says he’ll sign an order to pay TSA, with Congress still deadlocked on a deal to end the shutdown
Yahoo News

Powered by WPeMatico