December 23, 2024
The United States Department of the Treasury delivered a bombshell this morning by announcing sanctions against former Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly. Accused of drug trafficking and money laundering, Martelly has now joined the blacklist of Haitian political figures targeted by international sanctions.
This decision, made under Executive Order 14059, highlights Martelly’s alleged role in the transit of cocaine to the United States, as well as his involvement in illicit activities that fuel gang violence in Haiti. According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Martelly is believed to have abused his political influence to facilitate these traffics, further exacerbating the security and political crisis that has paralyzed the country for several years.
“This action against Martelly underscores his destabilizing role in Haiti’s current crisis,” said Bradley T. Smith, Acting Assistant Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “The United States, alongside its international partners, is determined to disrupt the drug trafficking and corruption networks that fuel violence and instability in Haiti.”
As a result of these sanctions, Michel Martelly is now barred from accessing the U.S. financial system. American financial institutions are prohibited from engaging with him, and all foreign currency transactions involving him are banned. U.S. citizens and companies must also refrain from investing in or purchasing financial instruments associated with the former president.
This sanction comes nearly eight months after 13 other Haitian political figures were hit with similar measures at the end of 2023. Among these figures are Jean-Max Bellerive, former Prime Minister, as well as former senators Nénel Cassy and Hervé Fourcand, both accused of corruption and involvement in illegal activities.
The sanction against Martelly marks a turning point in U.S. efforts to clean up the political climate in Haiti. It sends a strong message to Haitian elites: no position of power guarantees immunity from acts of corruption and drug trafficking. The international community remains vigilant as the future of Martelly, once one of the most influential political figures in the country, now appears uncertain.
The fallout from this sanction could very well send another shockwave through the Haitian political sphere, as the country continues to struggle against gang violence and the disintegration of its state institutions.