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Americas|U.S. Sanctions Former Haitian President for Drug Trafficking
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/20/world/americas/haiti-sanctions-martelly-president.html
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The Treasury Department said former President Michel Martelly’s actions have contributed significantly to the unraveling of security in the country.
By David C. Adams
Reporting from Miami
Aug. 20, 2024, 2:23 p.m. ET
The United States imposed sanctions against former President Michel Martelly of Haiti for drug trafficking and money laundering, according to a U.S. Treasury Department statement released Tuesday, accusing him of contributing to the destabilization and unrest afflicting the Caribbean nation.
Mr. Martelly, who served as president of Haiti from 2011 to 2016, “abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States,” the Treasury Department said. He also “sponsored multiple Haiti-based gangs,” the statement added. The sanctions prohibit U.S. financial institutions from making loans or providing credit to Mr. Martelly.
“Today’s action against Martelly emphasizes the significant and destabilizing role he and other corrupt political elites have played in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in Haiti,” Bradley T. Smith, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement.
The government of Mr. Martelly, a 63-year-old popular musician known as “Sweet Micky,” was accused of rampant corruption, including misappropriation of aid worth about $2 billion from Venezuela — though he never faced any charges in Haiti.
He was sanctioned in 2022 by the Canadian government, which also accused him of profiting from armed gangs.
A United Nations sanctions report in September 2023 singled out Mr. Martelly for political corruption and gang ties. The report stated that during his presidency, he “used gangs to extend his influence in the neighborhoods in order to advance his political agenda, thus contributing to a legacy of insecurity whose effects are still being felt today.”
