Protesters sing an anti-government song in front of a barricade of burning tires during a protest against the government in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Canada is sanctioning two of Haiti’s cabinet ministers it accuses of helping violent gangs sow chaos in that country.THE CANADIAN PRESS /AP/Odelyn Joseph
OTTAWA – Canada is sanctioning two of Haiti’s recent cabinet ministers it accuses of helping violent gangs sow chaos in that country.
Ottawa is barring Haiti’s former justice minister, Berto Dorcé, and former interior minister, Liszt Quitel, from entering Canada and is ordering any assets they hold in Canada to be frozen.
The Trudeau government accuses the pair of “significant corruption” that is fuelling the crisis in the country.
Canada has now sanctioned 13 political and economic elites in Haiti over allegations they have enabled criminal gangs to wreak havoc, including through money laundering.
Many of them have ties to Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has argued an international military intervention is needed to restore order and hold elections.
Canada has said it wants to help, but only when Haitian political leaders find consensus on how other countries should respond, with the sanctions meant to nudge them in the right direction.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2022.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Berto Dorcé and Liszt Quitel are current cabinet ministers in Haiti.
