Photo source: PAHO
Port-au-Prince: In Haiti, where gang gunfire echoes through the shattered streets of the country’s capital, over 40 per cent of health facilities lie shuttered, leaving the wounded with nowhere to turn. On May 2, 2025, United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a decisive strike against this chaos, designating the Viv Ansanm coalition, whose members have taken control of almost all the capital, Port-au-Prince, and the Gran Grif gang, as Foreign Terrorist Organisations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
The move aims to dismantle the gangs’ stranglehold, which fuels a deepening humanitarian crisis marked by soaring hunger, dwindling healthcare, and crushing economic hardship, as warned by WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. According to the latest United Nations figures, more than 1,600 people were killed in Haiti gang violence in the first three months of 2025. Most of those killed were gang members.
Rubio, speaking in Washington, pinpointed Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif as the primary drivers of Haiti’s instability, posing a direct threat to US national security interests in the region. These gangs, he stated, are responsible for killing Haitian citizens, attacking the Haitian National Police, and targeting personnel of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission. Their ambition is chilling: to overthrow Haiti’s government and establish a gang-controlled state where illicit trafficking—drugs, weapons, and more—thrives unchecked, terrorising communities. The terrorist designations carry severe consequences: any individual or entity, including Haitians, U.S. citizens, or lawful permanent residents, engaging in transactions or providing material support to these groups risks counterterrorism sanctions, criminal prosecution, inadmissibility to the U.S., or removal. “The age of impunity for those supporting violence in Haiti is over,” Rubio declared.
The designations signal the Trump administration’s commitment to countering these “vicious groups,” Rubio added, commending the “extraordinary bravery” of the Haitian National Police and international MSS partners. He urged Haiti’s political leaders to prioritise citizen security, halt the violence, and pave the way for democracy through free and fair elections. “The United States stands with the Haitian people as they seek a secure, stable future,” he affirmed, framing the designations as a critical tool to curtail the gangs’ terrorist activities. On April 14, 2025, following discussions between the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of State with Prime Minister of Barbados and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Mia Mottley, the United States stated it supports the statement by CARICOM condemning any actions to destabilise Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council. The United States stated it supports the efforts by the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission and CARICOM to assist the government in its efforts to bring peace and stability to Haiti in the face of armed criminal gangs.
Haiti has endured a prolonged socioeconomic, political, and humanitarian crisis for several years, which became particularly acute in mid-September 2022 due to rising armed conflict and gang control. By 2025, the insecurity had only intensified. This situation has severely restricted the population’s access to essential resources such as food, clean water, sanitation, and healthcare, resulting in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
Haiti’s crisis is dire, as Dr. Tedros detailed in Geneva. Gang violence has gutted healthcare access, with 42 per cent of Port-au-Prince’s health facilities closed, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). On April 22, 2025, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais, one of the country’s largest public hospitals, suspended operations due to a surge in insecurity, leaving a gaping void in care. La Paix University Hospital, the only public facility in Port-au-Prince equipped to manage a high influx of trauma cases, stands as a last bastion, supported by PAHO/WHO. Haitian healthcare workers, defying constant danger, continue to treat patients under harrowing conditions, their resilience a beacon amid the chaos.
Hunger is spiking, and economic hardship is suffocating families, Dr. Tedros warned. The violence has displaced thousands, overwhelming remaining health facilities. In the Centre Department, hospitals in Hinche, Boucan Carré, and Cange are grappling with acute shortages of staff and supplies, exacerbated by Mirebalais’s closure.
UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, briefing in New York on May 2, 2025, reported that armed violence severely restricts humanitarian access, with main transport routes plagued by insecurity. Despite these challenges, the UN and partners delivered emergency kits earlier that week to the Centre Department, including surgical instruments and essential supplies sufficient to treat 30,000 patients for three months. These kits bolster hospitals struggling to cope with an influx of displaced people.
The humanitarian response, however, is critically underfunded. Dujarric highlighted that Haiti’s 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, requiring $908 million, has secured only $61 million—less than 7 per cent of the needed funds—a third of the way into the year. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), alongside UN agencies and partners, persists in addressing urgent needs, but access constraints and funding shortfalls hinder comprehensive relief. In Port-au-Prince’s metropolitan area, where 42 per cent of healthcare facilities remain non-operational, the crisis is particularly acute, leaving trauma victims and displaced populations vulnerable.
The US action aligns with broader regional efforts to stabilise Haiti. On April 28, 2025, Rubio spoke with Belizean Prime Minister John Briceño, congratulating him on his March 12, 2025, election victory and reaffirming the U.S.-Belize partnership. Rubio praised Belize’s significant contributions to Haitian security, including support for the MSS mission, as well as its efforts to counter illegal immigration and combat transnational organised crime. The call underscored the importance of regional cooperation to address Haiti’s turmoil, with Belize playing a pivotal role in supporting stability.
The gangs’ relentless violence—marked by attacks on civilians, security forces, and MSS personnel—threatens not only Haiti’s future but also regional security, Rubio emphasised. Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif’s pursuit of a criminal state undermines governance and terrorises citizens, profiting from illicit trades that destabilise the Caribbean. The US designations aim to disrupt their operations, signalling that support for their activities will face swift repercussions.
Amid the darkness, Haitian healthcare workers stitch wounds under flickering lights, and UN teams brave treacherous routes to deliver aid. Yet, with hospitals closing and famine fears growing, the crisis deepens. Dujarric stressed OCHA’s unwavering commitment to reach those in need, but the scale of the challenge is daunting. The U.S. terrorist designations mark a bold step to confront Haiti’s gangs, but restoring peace and healing a fractured nation will demand sustained international support and resilience from Haiti’s embattled people.
– global bihari bureau
