The United Nations Security Council on Friday unanimously agreed to clamp down on illicit arms sales and violent criminal armed groups in Haiti by imposing a travel ban, arms embargo and asset freeze on gang leaders — and anyone engaging in actions that threaten the peace, security or stability of the crisis-wrecked Caribbean country.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called it an “an important step to help the Haitian people” and said it is “an initial answer to the calls for help from the Haitian people."
"We’re sending a clear message to the bad actors that are holding Haiti hostage. The international community will not stand idly by while you wreak havoc on the Haitian people,” she said.
In response, Thomas-Greenfield added, one of the country’s most notorious gang leaders, Jimmy Cherizier, who is known as “Barbecue”, has been sanctioned. His actions, Thomas-Greenfield said, have directly contributed to the humanitarian crisis that has caused “so much pain and suffering to the people of Haiti.”
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
