The United States is preparing to circulate a resolution at the United Nations Security Council next Monday that would establish a new framework for punishing Haiti’s gang leaders, and will not rule out international intervention as the country falls into anarchy, said a senior State Department official.
Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols said in an interview that the gang leaders fueling Haiti’s worst security crisis in decades “are in the crosshairs, and their actions to destabilize Haiti will be met with international travel and financial sanctions”.
The Biden administration expects a swift passage of the resolution “in the next few days,” Nichols said.
“The resolution will create a United Nations framework to impose sanctions on gang leaders and those who support, facilitate and finance their activities,” he said. “Those sanctions would target your financial resources and your ability to travel.” The Haitian government has all but lost control over security in the Caribbean nation, and US officials say the country has reached a crisis not seen since the early 1990s. Get unlimited digital access Subscribe now for just $2 for 2 months.