# Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023

Haiti is facing a severe crisis driven by powerful criminal gangs that control large parts of the country and commit horrific crimes including murder, rape, kidnapping, and drug trafficking. What makes this crisis particularly difficult to solve is that evidence suggests Haiti's political leaders and wealthy business owners are working together with these gangs rather than fighting them. This bill is designed to expose those connections and punish the officials and business leaders involved.

The bill requires the U.S. State Department to produce a detailed annual report for the next five years that identifies which Haitian politicians and wealthy business owners are connected to criminal gangs, describes exactly how those relationships work, and explains how these elites use gang connections to gain power and money. The report will also list which of these individuals are already facing sanctions or visa bans from the United States, other countries, or the United Nations. Importantly, the State Department must publish the names of connected elites on a public website so the information is available to everyone, not just Congress.

Once the State Department identifies these corrupt officials and business leaders, the President has 30 days to impose sanctions against them. These sanctions typically include travel bans to the United States and freezing of any assets they hold in America. The President can skip these sanctions only in rare cases where doing so serves vital national interests or is necessary to deliver humanitarian aid. This approach aims to create real consequences for Haiti's elites who profit from gang violence while ordinary Haitians suffer from kidnappings, sexual violence, and blocked access to food and fuel. By shining a light on these connections and imposing financial and travel restrictions, the bill hopes to pressure these individuals to stop supporting criminal gangs and help stabilize Haiti.

Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023

Meeks, Gregory W.

Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of State to provide an annual report to Congress on ties between criminal gangs and political and economic elites in Haiti. The bill also requires the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on certain individuals identified in the report if appropriate under specified U.S. laws. Among other things, the report must (1) identify prominent criminal gangs in Haiti, (2) list Haitian political and economic elites that have links to criminal gangs, (3) assess how collusion between Haitian political and economic elites and criminal gangs threatens the Haitian people and U.S. national interests, and (4) assess what actions the governments of the United States and Haiti could take to address those threats. The President may waive sanctions in certain circumstances.