# Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2025

This bill requires the U.S. State Department to investigate and report on connections between Haiti's criminal gangs and the country's political and business leaders. Starting within six months of the bill becoming law, and then every year for five years, the State Department must submit a detailed report to Congress identifying major criminal gangs in Haiti, listing political officials and business executives who work with these gangs, and explaining how these partnerships help the elites maintain power and wealth. The report will also look at how these criminal networks are involved in human trafficking to the U.S. border and their connections to larger international criminal organizations.

Once the State Department submits each report, the President has 90 days to impose sanctions on the people and organizations identified as being involved in this criminal collusion. These sanctions work in two main ways. First, the U.S. government can freeze any money or property these individuals have in America or that passes through American financial systems. Second, the government can ban them from entering the United States, revoke any visas they already have, and prevent them from doing business with American companies or institutions. Anyone who tries to work around these sanctions—like helping a sanctioned person move money or do business—can face significant fines and penalties.

The bill includes some important exceptions to make sure sanctions don't interfere with humanitarian work. Food, medicine, and aid shipments to Haiti won't be blocked, and neither will financial transactions needed to help Haitian people. Additionally, the President can waive sanctions if he determines it's in America's national interest to do so, and the bill doesn't apply to people who need to enter the U.S. for official United Nations business. The entire law expires after five years unless Congress extends it.

Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2025

Meeks, Gregory W.

Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2025This bill requires the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that are involved in or have direct ties to prominent criminal gangs in Haiti.Specifically, the Department of State must periodically report to Congress on the ties between criminal gangs and political and economic elites in Haiti. The report must list (1) prominent criminal gangs in Haiti and the leaders thereof, and (2) Haitian political and economic elites who have direct links to criminal gangs and any organizations or entities controlled by these individuals. The President must impose sanctions on listed individuals and entities.Under the bill, the term economic elites means board members, officers, and executives of groups, corporations, or other entities that exert substantial influence or control over Haiti’s economy, infrastructure, or particular industries. Political elites means current and former government officials and their high-level staff and political party or committee leaders.The bill also applies civil and criminal penalties to persons that violate, attempt to violate, conspire to violate, or cause a violation of the regulations promulgated to carry out such sanctions.