The United States is intensifying its efforts to hold Haiti’s political and economic elite accountable, as both the Department of State and federal immigration authorities took major actions this week against high-profile Haitian figures.
On Monday, the State Department publicly designated Arnel Belizaire, a former member of Haiti’s Chamber of Deputies, and Antonio Cheramy, a former Haitian senator, for their involvement in significant corruption during their time in public office.
According to U.S. officials, both men abused their positions by interfering with government processes, acts that destabilized Haiti’s institutions and undercut democratic governance.
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The designations render Belizaire, Cheramy, and their immediate family members generally ineligible to enter the United States.
“Corrupt and destructive acts by these officials had serious effects on U.S. national interests by further destabilizing Haiti’s institutions and processes,” the department stated.
The designation further underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to holding accountable individuals who undermine stability in Haiti.
The following day, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed the arrest of Dimitri Vorbe, one of Haiti’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen.
Vorbe, who has long been a central figure in Haiti’s private energy sector, was taken into custody in Miami and is currently being held at the Krome North Service Processing Center.
Federal records showed no formal charges against him as of Tuesday evening, and ICE officials declined to comment further.
Vorbe’s detention comes just two months after ICE arrested another Haitian business tycoon, Réginald Boulos, in Florida.
U.S. authorities have accused Boulos of supporting violent gangs in Haiti that Washington has labeled terrorist organizations.
Analysts see the back-to-back arrests as a warning to Haiti’s entrenched elite.
“With the arrests of Boulos and Vorbe, you are seeing a strata of Haitian society touched in their places of exile,” said author Michael Deibert, who has written extensively on Haiti.
“A message is being sent to the upper echelon of Haiti’s political and economic elite that they’re not untouchable anymore.”
Vorbe’s family owns Société Générale d’Énergie S.A., once one of Haiti’s largest private power suppliers, and has historically benefited from lucrative state contracts under previous administrations.
In 2020, the government of slain President Jovenel Moïse seized the company, accusing Vorbe of corruption. The family has also wielded political influence through ties to Fanmi Lavalas, a major party founded by former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
“The Vorbe and Boulos families have long represented the intersection of political and economic power in Haiti,” noted Jake Johnston of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
“For many Haitians, these arrests may feel like a rare step toward accountability in a country with a broken judicial system.
The question is whether these moves amount to a coherent strategy that truly benefits Haiti.”
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau underscored that the U.S. government intends to remain “relentless” in pursuing those who support gangs and destabilize Haiti, whether through indictments, arrests, sanctions, or immigration restrictions.
Taken together, the designation of former legislators and the arrests of businessmen underscore Washington’s increasing willingness to target both political and financial elites seen as complicit in Haiti’s deepening crisis.
In a country where gangs control nearly all of Port-au-Prince and public trust in government has collapsed, the United States is signaling that the shield of wealth and office no longer guarantees protection.
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