U.S Designates Two Haitian Groups as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations”

On May 2, 2025 the U.S. Department of State released a public notice designating the Haiti-based Viv Ansanm alliance and the Gran Grif gang as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Executive Order 13224.

This measure builds on President Donald Trump’s policy of enacting terrorist designations against criminal organizations in Latin America.

The Trump administration has taken a tough stance against such gangs in the region by exposing and isolating entities while denying them access to the US financial system and the resources they require to carry out their criminal operations.

Viv Ansanm has committed coordinated attacks against Haiti’s vital infrastructure, such as government buildings, jails, and the country’s primary airport in Port-au-Prince.

Gran Grif, the biggest gang in the country, is responsible for 80 percent of civilian death reports in Artibonite since 2022.

These new designations follow the United States’ sanctioning of the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua gang, as well as several other Latin American organized crime groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, as global terrorist organizations in February.

“The age of impunity for those supporting violence in Haiti is over,” the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said in a statement.

As per the statement, the designated groups provide an armored platform for criminal gangs to utilize violence to destabilize Haiti and prevent counter-operations meant for restoring governmental control.

Their actions forced former Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation.

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Any member of the designated group is now inadmissible for entrance into the United States after being designated as a “foreign terrorist organization.”

This designation also prohibits providing “material support or resources” to the group, which will accidentally penalize individuals in regions where gangs are heavily entrenched in the local business and politics.

Criminal gangs pose a pervasive threat in Haiti.  For instance, the Viv Ansanm alliance, which means to “Live Together,” is believed to have authority over up to 85% of Port-au-Prince, prohibiting commercial planes and withholding essential supplies such as medical supplies and food.

The United Nations is pushing for more aggressive steps to prevent guns from being transferred to Haitian gangs, particularly from the United States, which it claims is the primary supplier of illegal firearms in Haiti through ports in Florida.

According to a fact sheet by the State Department, Gran Grif is also responsible for targeting UN-authorized Multinational Security Support (MSS) missions, particularly the February 2025 incident where the group is responsible for murdering a Kenyan MSS mission officer, as well as a Haitian National Police officer.

In October 2024, the Gran Grif group claimed responsibility for the killing of at least 115 people in Pont-Sonde, an isolated village.