Former head of Haiti President Moïse's security unit, two others sanctioned by Canada
A key suspect in the still unsolved July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, who was in charge of his safety at the time of the slaying, has been sanctioned by Canada for his alleged role in the intensified gang attacks engulfing Haiti.
Dimitri Hérard, who headed the General Security Unit of the National Palace, one of the three presidential security forces at the time of Moïse's killing, was sanctioned Friday along with a powerful warlord who controls the northern entrance into the capital and the former head of an environmental agency who transformed its security brigade into an armed group serving political interests.
Canada said Hérard, along with Jeff Larose, the head of the Canaan Gang, and Jeantel Joseph, the former head of the National Agency of Protected Areas under Moïse before he was fired in January 2024, 'are being sanctioned in response to their involvement in serious disruptions of international peace and security, as well as grave violations of human rights.' Larose, known as 'Jeff Canaan' is a key member of the powerful Viv Ansanm gang alliance that escalated their attacks after a specialized police task force began using weaponized drones against gang strongholds.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said the sanctions fall under the Special Economic Measures Regulations that Ottawa began instituting in November 2024 to address the deteriorating political, security and humanitarian situation in Haiti, 'which has been exacerbated by the actions of the targeted individuals.'
Friday's announcement brings the number of Haitians blacklisted by Canada to 34. Under the sanctions, the individuals won't be able to travel to Canada, and any assets in Canada will be frozen. Canadians at home and abroad will be prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
These are the first sanctions in months from Ottawa, which has faced challenges on some of the individuals it has named. The timing of Friday's announcement coincides with growing concerns in Port-au-Prince about gangs' continued expansion and the inability of both the Haitian police and Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission to neutralize the violence or eliminate key leaders.
The spreading violence has forced more than 60,000 Haitians to flee their homes in just a month, according to the United Nations, and attacks have brought all economic activity in downtown Port-au-Prince to a halt as schools, businesses and government offices close their doors. No one has been spared, including orphanages and religious groups, which have been forced to evacuate.
The violence is raising concerns of a gang takeover, with Hérard's name being often cited along with others as a possible beneficiary of the effort.
Hérard, a powerful figure in the president's security obit, is among dozens of Haitians indicted by an investigative judge in Port-au-Prince for his alleged role in the assassination of Moïse. At the time, he was already a suspect in a separate U.S. arms-trafficking investigation.
Last year he escaped from a prison cell inside the National Penitentiary when gangs launched coordinated attacks across the capital, freeing more than 4,000 inmates, including gang leaders, during two prison breaks.
After months of remaining silent and under the radar, he recently reemerged, releasing three professionally produced videos that promoted his image and attacked his enemies. He also attempted to defend himself against the allegations of helping a group of Colombian mercenaries kill the president and blamed others for Moïse's slaying.
While Hérard remains wanted by Haitian police, his whereabouts are unknown. Some believe he has escaped from Haiti, while others believe he remains in the country, living in the fiefdom of the Village de Dieu gang on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. The theory emerged shortly after the prison break when members of the Izo 5Segond gang were dressed in uniforms similar to some of those used by the police assigned to the National Palace, and their vehicles used the same camouflage that Hérard once used for the specialized palace police units.
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