The United States is today sanctioning a former member of Haiti’s parliament, Prophane Victor, for his role in forming, supporting, and arming gangs that have committed serious human rights abuse in Haiti, as well as the current leader of the Gran Grif gang, Luckson Elan, for his involvement in serious human rights abuse related to gang activity in Haiti’s Artibonite department.
Both Victor and Elan are highlighted in the recent final report of the United Nations Panel of Experts as being significantly responsible for the crisis in Haiti. The report states that the “levels of violence and the depths of cruelty that gangs will go to in violating human rights are unprecedented, with regular indiscriminate attacks against the population and the obstruction of humanitarian assistance. Sexual and gender-based violence and rape, in particular, have become one of the most horrific expressions of violence over the past two years.”
Promoting accountability for gender-based violence is a top priority for the U.S. government and for our use of the Global Magnitsky sanctions program. We will continue to use the tools at our disposal to expose those who commit such heinous crimes anywhere they occur.
President Biden issued a Memorandum on Promoting Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in November 2022 that directs the U.S. government to strengthen our exercise of financial, diplomatic, and legal tools against this scourge. The Department of the Treasury sanctions actions today were taken pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. For more information, see Treasury’s press release.