On Friday, May 2, 2025, the United States designated the criminal organizations “Viv Ansanm” and “Baz Gran Grif” as foreign terrorist organizations and global terrorists. These two entities—responsible for numerous atrocities including massacres, rapes, and kidnappings—have been added to the website of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Through this decision, these criminal groups change category, and any person or entity providing them with any form of support is now liable to prosecution in the United States.

In a statement released the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the era of impunity for those supporting violence in Haiti is over: “Haitian gangs, including the Viv Ansanm coalition and Gran Grif, are the main source of instability and violence in Haiti. They pose a direct threat to the national security interests of the United States in our region. These gangs have killed and continue to attack the Haitian population, Haitian security forces, and personnel of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM), and they are determined to overthrow the Haitian government. Their ultimate goal is to create a gang-controlled state where illicit trafficking and other criminal activities operate freely, terrorizing Haitian citizens. These terrorist designations play a crucial role in our fight against these heinous groups and serve as an effective means of limiting support for their terrorist activities. Transactions with members of these groups pose counterterrorism risks, not only for Haitians but also for lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens. Individuals and entities that provide material support or resources to Viv Ansanm or Gran Grif face criminal prosecution, as well as inadmissibility or removal from U.S. territory,” the head of U.S. diplomacy stated at length in his release.