The powerful alliance of armed gangs that plunged Haiti into violence and launched an attack on national institutions was designated as a terrorist group by the Trump administration on Friday.
The move is already likely to exacerbate Haiti’s humanitarian crisis, experts said, as gangs control much of the country’s economy and infrastructure that holds ports, main roads, harbors, businesses and locals.
President Trump’s designation gives the United States a broader power to impose economic penalties on criminal groups, and even potentially takes military action. But it also allows the United States to impose sanctions on those accusing them of doing business with gangs.
“The era of immunity for those who support violence in Haiti is over,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a social media post.
Depending on how it is enforced, the declaration could close almost every deal with Haiti, some experts say.
A coalition of gangs known as Viv Ansam – “Living Together” in Haiti Creole – was formed in 2023 and pledged to protect civilians, but soon launched attacks on communities, prisons, hospitals and police stations.
The gang also forced former Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign after failing to return to the country due to security concerns.
Some gangs currently considered cross-border terrorist groups under Trump’s designation have spread beyond Haiti, establishing gun smuggling ties between Florida and the Dominican Republic.
The Terrorist Declaration also targeted the Glanglyph gang in the Artibonite sector, a major agricultural area north of the capital considered Haiti’s bread basket. The gang has been accused of committing a horrific massacre last year, which killed more than 100 people.
Haiti’s private sector businesses, including port operators, bus company owners and mobile phone providers, are all owed to pay gangs, experts say. It could potentially expose them to US sanctions.
Many charities and relief agencies must work with gangs who seized the areas they run.
“What about churches and NGOs that support 13-year-olds who belong to gangs?” said Brian A. Nichols, who served in the Biden administration as US Secretary of State in the Western Hemisphere. “I hate criticizing the efforts to help Haiti, but this designation is unlikely to harm gangs. It’s more likely to cause auxiliary damage.”
In Haiti, some people asked what terrorist labeling means to victims and their families who are forced to pay the ransom.
“The victims of the lure have no choice but to pay the gang. What should they do?” Marie Lucy Bonhomme, a well-known Haitian journalist and radio host whose husband was lured for two months in 2023, said, “They have to pay a ransom to free their loved ones. Everyone knows, the police and the government knows.”
Still, some experts said they suspect the US government will apply sanctions very widely.
A US State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump and his aides may view their move as “the measures essentially necessary to increase costs as people stop doing business with armed groups,” said Jake Johnston, a senior researcher at the Center for Economic Policy Research.
But historically, he added, that’s not what happens. “You’ve just pushed people even further into illegal markets and illegal economies.”
Johnson said development banks, donors, aid agencies, aid agencies, importers, importers, exporters, exporters, remittance companies, and even “every transaction must be considered in the previous way.”
Haitians’ lives could get worse, experts said.
Already shortages, expensive food and fuel can become scarce if truck drivers don’t pay tolls to the gangs who control the roads. Bus drivers must also pay the gang.
Still, some welcomed the terrorist declaration.
“That’s something I’ve been waiting for so long,” said Jeff Frazier, an American businessman who was lured in Haiti in 2023 and was detained for ransom for 43 days.
“I don’t think the Trump administration is going to come after those who are forced to pay the ransom,” Fraser said. “The intention is to get the bad guy.”
Former acting prime minister Claude Joseph said he and four other Haitian politicians had asked Rubio to label the gang as a terrorist organization in January.
“These gangs are killing people in Haiti,” he said.
When asked about the potential damage to businessmen and others forced by the gang, he said he hopes this will be taken into consideration. “The Haitian government and the US should see that,” he said. “They may need to get some exemptions.”
André Paultre contributed to a report from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
