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The United States has announced new sanctions targeting two Haitians accused of supporting a violent gang that’s seeking to overthrow the Haitian government.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: If you’re unaware, Haiti is having a really rough time right now as powerful gangs continue to control vast portions of the country, particularly the capital, Port-au-Prince. Shit really hit the fan in 2021 following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which created a massive power vacuum that no legitimate government has been able to fill. In the absence of stable leadership, criminal networks have moved in and planted their roots, most notably Viv Ansanm, a brutal coalition of gangs that now wields near-total control over the capital. This alliance, which includes notorious groups like the Bel Air gang, engages in extortion, kidnappings, drug trafficking, massacres, and attacks on state institutions. They operate more like a government than street gangs, complete with territory control, armed checkpoints, and their own laws. The situation has become so dire that roughly 1.4 million people have been displaced, and thousands have been killed, as civilians are caught in the crossfire.

What’s going on now: In a notable development, the United States slapped new sanctions on Dimitri Herard, a former top Haitian security official, and Kempes Sanon, the leader of the Bel Air gang, for their roles in fueling the rise and violence of the Viv Ansanm alliance. Herard, who once ran security at the Haitian presidential palace, was already implicated in the 2021 assassination of Moïse and later escaped prison during a mass jailbreak orchestrated by the gangs.

Since then, he’s been seen in videos training gang members and providing them with weapons and gear. Sanon, on the other hand, is believed to be one of the strategic masterminds behind Viv Ansanm’s operations, responsible for a 2023 massacre that left more than 140 people dead in the Bel Air neighborhood.

The sanctions, announced by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freeze any US-based assets owned by Herard and Sanon and ban all US entities or individuals from doing business with them. The United Nations Security Council backed the move, voting unanimously to extend sanctions against both men and broaden its embargo on arms flowing into Haiti.