US, UN Unanimously Sanction Haitian Gang Leaders

The United States and the United Nations sanctioned former National Palace security chief Dimitri Herard and Bel Air gang leader Kempes Sanon for their roles supporting the Viv Ansanm gang coalition. The U.N. Security Council unanimously ordered asset freezes, travel bans and an extension of an arms embargo on Haiti, while the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated both men under E.O. 13224, blocking any U.S. assets and prohibiting transactions with U.S. persons. U.S. officials said the men materially assisted Viv Ansanm by providing training, firearms and other support that enabled coordinated attacks, extortion and kidnappings; Herard, a former police officer implicated in President Jovenel Moïse’s 2021 assassination, escaped prison in 2024 and is accused of colluding with gang leaders and facilitating arms trafficking. Sanon is accused of consolidating Bel Air’s role in Viv Ansanm and overseeing indiscriminate killings, illicit taxation and kidnappings. Gangs control large parts of Port-au-Prince, have displaced more than 1.3 million people, and officials say the steps aim to disrupt funding and arms flows even as analysts warn sanctions have limited effect if targets hold few U.S. assets.