Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023

This bill was introduced on March 21, 2023, in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Meeks (NY-5), McCaul (TX-10), and Salazar (FL-27). Upon introduction, the bill was referred to the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary committees.

Identifying the Problem

In October 2021, about 167 criminal gangs controlled over two-thirds of Haiti. These armed criminal gangs conduct violent crimes. These crimes include murder, rape, kidnapping, drug running, and gun trafficking. These gangs are also known for interfering with relief deliveries.
Between July 2018 and December 2019, there has been a 333% increase in the threats to human rights, life, and security in Haiti. There is significant evidence of collusion between criminal gangs and economic and political elites in Haiti, including members of the Haitian National Police.

Building the Solution

Q. How will this legislation help?

Within 90 days of this Act becoming law, and every year for the following 5 years, the U.S. Secretary of State working in coordination with the intelligence community, must submit a report to Congress.

A. The mandated report will:

Identify the well-known criminal gangs in Haiti and describe their criminal activities. It will also describe the areas of Haiti in which most of their operations take place.
Include a list of prominent Haitian political figures, officers, and board members who are working with the criminal gangs.
Identify the link between the gangs and Haitian prominent figures will be described in detail.
Highlight any Haitian prominent figures with links to criminal gangs, that also have visa restrictions or sanctions, (orders of removal) from the United States government, the date in which the restrictions and sanctions have been put into place., if any other country has a visa restriction or sanction against any of the listed individuals.
Identify how the prominent figures benefit from their relationships to criminal gangs. It will also include an assessment of how these relationships threaten both the Haitian people, and the United States national interests. There will also be an assessment of potential actions to be taken by both the United States and Haitian governments to bring an end to this wave of corruption.
- Identified Haitian prominent figures will be posted on a website provided by the U.S. Department of State upon the date of report submission. 5 years after the enactment of the bill, the public will no longer have access to this information.

H.R. 1684 is a critical first step to addressing Haiti's insecurity. Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick remains committed to working with the Haitian Diaspora on solutions that preserve Haiti's rule of law.