US sanctions Fritz Alphonse Jean, alleges ties to Haiti gangs

By the Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. government has imposed visa restrictions on Fritz Alphonse Jean, a member of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, accusing him of supporting gangs and other criminal organizations in a move expected to deepen the country’s political instability.

The U.S. also accused Jean of obstructing Haiti’s fight against “terrorist gangs.” Gangs control 90% of Haiti’s capital and swaths of territory in the center of the country, where they extort businesses and fight for territory, using military-grade weaponry.

Jean told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he rejected those accusations.

Haiti is due to hold elections by Feb. 7, when the council is supposed to step down. 

Critics have said that some council members of the transitional presidential council are seeking to stay on in power beyond that date and are looking for a new prime minister who would support those plans.

Jean dismissed that criticism, saying the council wants to fight gangs and corruption.

“Once we started reviewing the possibilities of changing the head of government, members of (the council) started receiving threats of visa cancellation and other sanctions from the US embassy representative and the Canadian ambassador,” Jean said. 

He said the envoys clearly stipulated that “if we do not desist, we will face sanctions and visa cancellation.”

“We stand firm on combating corruption, state capture by few individuals, and operators involved in drugs trafficking, weapons and ammunition’s proliferation,” Jean said.

The office of Haiti’s prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, did not immediately return a message for comment.

Fils-Aimé and the transitional presidential council have been under pressure to hold general elections before the council’s mandate expires.

But ongoing gang violence has made that deadline impossible to meet.

Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council has set tentative election dates for August and December of next year.

The troubled country hasn’t held elections in almost a decade, and no one has been president ever since former President Jovenel Moïse was fatally shot at his private residence in July 2021.

The post US sanctions Fritz Alphonse Jean, alleges ties to Haiti gangs appeared first on The Haitian Times.