Eight million Canadian dollars will be provided to meet the needs of the population affected by the multidimensional crisis in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere — security, health, food.
Canada’s diplomacy announced yesterday Sunday the granting of humanitarian aid to Haiti and at the same time the imposition of sanctions against the country’s former president Michel Martelly (2011-2016) and two former prime ministers, accusing these three politicians of “directly benefiting” from the organized crime gang activity.
“The individuals who are sanctioned benefit directly from gang activity and are involved in a cycle of corruption,” Melanie Jolie, Canada’s foreign minister, said during a press conference in Djerba, Tunisia, on the sidelines of a Francophone summit.
The two prime ministers who face sanctions, including the freezing of any assets they may have in Canadian territory, are Laurent Lamotte and Jean-Henri Seán, Canadian authorities said.
Mr Martelli, who took over the presidency after the devastating 2010 earthquake, once a singer known by the nickname “Sweet Mickey”, had been strongly supported by the US.
Similar sanctions were announced earlier this month against Haiti’s Senate president and his predecessor, as Ottawa also accuses them of having ties to organized crime.
Former prime minister Lamott (2012-2014) spoke of the “fakes fake news” he has ever heard in a message to the Reuters news agency, assuring that he is not only not connected to organized crime, but is among those calling for there to be intervention of an international military force to crack down on the gangs. “Canada cannot present a shred of proof because there is none,” added Mr. Lamott. “It’s absurd.”
So far, neither Mr. Martelli, who lives in the US, nor Mr. Sean have reacted publicly.
At the same time, the Canadian government announced that it will grant Haiti 16.5 million Canadian dollars in humanitarian aid, mainly to help it deal with a cholera epidemic and to fight against corruption and impunity.
Eight million Canadian dollars will be provided to meet the needs of the population affected by the multidimensional crisis in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere — security, health, food.
This assistance is “necessary to distribute water, food and health aid for the fight against cholera,” explained Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Caribbean nation has been mired in political, economic and security crisis for years, exacerbated by the assassination last year of President Jovenel Moise by a group of mercenaries. Heavily armed gangs are constantly expanding the territories under their control.
Haiti is facing a new cholera outbreak just three years after it eliminated the previous one, which killed more than 10,000 people.
The Haitian government and the UN mission in Port-au-Prince issued an appeal in mid-month to raise $145.6 million to deal with the new outbreak, which has already killed at least 146 people.
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