May 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department on Friday designated two powerful Haitian gangs as terrorist groups.
The agency listed the Viv Ansanm coalition, which consists of more than two dozen of Haiti's best-armed criminal groups, and the Gran Grif gang as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
Gangs control about 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as other regions, including the West and Artibonite departments, according to the United Nations.
"The age of impunity for those supporting violence in Haiti is over," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. "Haitian gangs, including the Viv Ansanm coalition and Gran Grif, are the primary source of instability and violence in Haiti. They are a direct threat to U.S. national security interests in our region.
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"These gangs have killed and continue attacking the people of Haiti, Haitian security forces and Multinational Security Support mission personnel, and are committed to overthrowing the government of Haiti."
Rubio said gangs' ultimate goal is "creating a gang-controlled state where illicit trafficking and other criminal activities operate freely and terrorize Haitian citizens."
The designations "play a critical role in our fight against these vicious groups and are an effective way to curtail support for their terrorist activities," Rubio said. "Engaging in transactions with members of these groups entails risk in relation to counterterrorism sanctions authorities, not only for Haitians but also for U.S. lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens."
Individuals and entities who give support or resources to Viv Ansanm or Gran Grif could face criminal charges and inadmissibility or removal from the United States.
"It has potentially huge implications whether banks, Western Union, financial systems will be willing to send remittances to Haiti," Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an expert on non-state armed groups who closely monitors Haiti, told The Miami Herald. "If they are afraid they will be prosecuted, they might be willing to not take such payments. On the positive aspect, perhaps this will scare off more Haitian politicians and businessmen who hire gangs for their nefarious purposes."
Eight other Latin American crime organizations were labeled as terror groups by the State Department in February, including Mexican cartels, as well as Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.
"The Trump Administration is sending a clear message with its terrorist designations of Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif," a senior State Department official told The Miami Herald. "Under the leadership of Secretary Rubio we are holding accountable vicious groups which have undermined Haiti and its people. It's in America's national security interest to hold the vicious gangs accountable."
Rubio praised "extraordinary bravery" of the Haitian National Police and all international partners supporting the MSS mission to establish stability and security in Haiti.
"We urge all of Haiti's political leaders to prioritize the security of the Haitian people, find solutions to stop the violence, and make progress toward the restoration of democracy through free and fair elections," Rubio said. "The United States stands with the Haitian people as they seek a secure, stable future for their country and citizens."
Viv Ansanm formed in September 2023 as a coalition of gangs through an alliance between the two main gang factions operating in Port-au-Prince, G-9 and G-Pep.
Gran Grif is the largest gang in Haiti's Artibonite department. Since 2022, Gran Grif has been responsible for 80% of civilian death reports in Artibonite, the State Department said in a fact sheet. In February, an attack killed a Kenyan Multinational Security Support mission officer.
At least 5,601 people were killed in Haiti last year because of gang violence, an increase of more than 1,000 in 2023, the United Nations said.
In December, armed men opened fire at Haiti's largest hospital during a briefing to announce the reopening, killing two journalists and a police officer. Viv Ansanm claimed responsibility for the attack in a video posted to social media.
"There is no territorial limitation, so if someone is paying the gangs in France or Australia that still applies," Felbab-Brown told The Miami Herald. "There is no limitation to just Haiti or the United States."
Haiti has been facing worsening gang violence since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July 2021.
Gang violence is reaching "a point of no return," according to the United Nations' top envoy for the Caribbean nation.
Maria Isabel Salvador, the special representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for Haiti, issued her warning during a Security Council briefing in New York City on April 21.
According to the United Nations, more than a million Haitians have been displaced. Also, more than half of the population -- 5.7 million Haitians -- faces acute hunger."
