SFRC Chairman Menendez Leads Senate Colleagues in Reintroducing Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act

Press Release

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in reintroducing the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act, bipartisan legislation that would require the Department of State to investigate and provide Congress with annual reports regarding the nature of the relationship between criminal gangs and political and economic elites in Haiti.

Prompted by the country's proliferation in gang violence, which comes against the backdrop of its ongoing security and humanitarian crises, the bipartisan bill seeks to grant public access to the Department's annual congressional reports and calls for robust sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act against criminal gangs in Haiti, as well as the political and economic elites with whom they collude.

"As the situation in Haiti continues to spiral out of control, I am proud to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation to hold Haiti's criminal gangs, their financers and political backers to account," Chairman Menendez said. "While the Haitian people face a political, security, and humanitarian crisis, criminal gangs--and those who enable them--continue to perpetrate horrifying abuses, including murdering civilians and committing heinous acts of sexual violence with relative impunity. As Haiti's future hangs in the balance, those responsible for these offenses must face consequences, regardless of their status."

"Haiti's ongoing crisis must be addressed as instability continues to threaten both the island's future and the stability of our region, including my home state of Florida. The people of Haiti have long suffered the hardships of gang violence, which continues to threaten their daily lives and prop up corrupt government officials. The U.S. and the international community must hold these bad actors accountable as an initial step to address the island's complex crisis," Senator Rubio said.

"The people of Haiti continue to suffer at the hands of criminal gangs and their backers. The Biden Administration's sanctions against these gangs last year were a much needed step. This legislation will expose the connections between these individuals who perpetrate unspeakable violence against the Haitian people, and the powerful public figures who deploy these gangs for their own benefit. It will provide an important tool for transparency, accountability, and justice for the Haitian people," Senator Kaine said.

"Haiti has become an utter political, humanitarian, and environmental catastrophe. The dysfunction has been fueled in part by endemic corruption, which directly contributes to the tragic situation and undercuts efforts to address it. The use of the anti-corruption sanctions in the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act would begin to impose accountability, and I am proud to cosponsor this legislation," Senator Cruz said.

"This legislation is an important tool to expose corrupt government officials and political bosses in Haiti who collude with gangs and impose sanctions on them," said Senator Booker. "The Haitian people deserve better."

The Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023:

· Imposes Global Magnitsky sanctions and visa restrictions on both Haitian gang leaders and the political and economic elites that support their activities.

· Requires annual reporting on the nature and magnitude of gang violence in Haiti and connections between Haitian political and economic elites and criminal gangs.

· Ensures public, readily accessible identification of Haitian political and economic elites that the United States assesses to have links to criminal gangs.