In a joint move by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the United Nations Security Council, sanctions were imposed on Dimitri Hérard, the former head of the General Security Unit at Haiti’s National Palace who has been accused of involvement in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
The sanctions target Hérard’s alleged support for Viv Ansanm, a gang coalition that, according to the U.N., uses violence and intimidation to destabilize the country and block any effort to restore state control in Haiti.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanctions on Oct. 17. The action also included Kempes Sanon, leader of the Bel Air gang and one of Viv Ansanm’s key allied groups.
“This action underscores the critical role of gang leaders and facilitators like Hérard and Sanon, whose support enables Viv Ansanm’s campaign of violence, extortion and terrorism in Haiti,” OFAC Director Bradley T. Smith said in a statement. “The United States is committed to holding accountable the gangs that threaten the Haitian people.”
According to reports from the Miami Herald, Hérard is among more than 40 individuals accused in the assassination of Moïse, who served as Haiti’s president from 2017 until his killing in 2021.
After being jailed, he escaped during a March 2024 prison break orchestrated by Viv Ansanm. Since then, he has reportedly supplied training and weapons to gang leaders, further fueling violence. The U.N. Security Council says Hérard has played a key role in arms and ammunition trafficking, strengthening criminal groups and weakening national security in Haiti.
The U.S. sanctions announcement came just before the U.N. Security Council voted 15‑0 to renew its sanctions program for another year, including a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo.
As reported by the Herald, Hérard has spent the last few months trying to reshape his public image. Earlier this year, he took to social media to defend himself and appeal directly to President Donald Trump, claiming he was wrongfully accused in the assassination of President Moïse.
In an email to the Herald, Hérard’s communications director said the former security official had asked President Trump to declassify case files related to Moïse’s assassination, arguing that “these files have been kept under seal and gag orders by U.S. authorities, limiting Haiti’s ability to investigate and denying the public access to key facts.”
The situation in Haiti is increasingly alarming as violence spreads into areas previously free from conflict. According to the State Department’s 2024 Human Rights Report, released in August, extrajudicial police killings are on the rise, and gang violence continues to spread, further destabilizing the Caribbean nation.
The report highlighted unlawful killings, arbitrary detentions, torture, severe restrictions on freedom of expression, human trafficking and the use of child labor in some of the worst forms.
The report also condemned the Haitian government for failing to hold perpetrators of abuses accountable, stating it had taken no credible steps against officials accused of serious violations, including unlawful killings.
With Haiti’s crisis deepening, the Trump administration warned in September that funding for U.N.-backed forces could be at risk if the Security Council did not approve expanding the Multinational Security Support mission, set to expire in December.
In August, the U.S. and Panama proposed creating a “gang suppression force” of up to 5,500 personnel to confront gangs in Haiti. The Security Council has since approved the plan, with countries including the U.S., Canada, and El Salvador expected to contribute.
This force will have authority to make arrests, detentions, and use of lethal equipment. It will also protect vulnerable populations, support the reintegration of former fighters, and help strengthen Haitian institutions, aiming to reclaim territory controlled by gangs that dominate much of Port‑au‑Prince.
Originally published on Latin Times
