Bref,
As part of its commitment to the international Anti-Corruption Day efforts, the US state Department on
Monday, December 11, 2023, announced further visa restrictions against former government officials and
their families for their alleged involvement in corruption. The visa restrictions target former Prime
Minister Jean Max Bellerive, Nenel Cassy and Herve Fourcand. Bellerive who served as Minister of
Planning and External Cooperation as well as Prime Minister under the Preval administration was accused
of abusing his authority by participating in corrupt activities that undermined the integrity of his office.
His immediate family including the spouse, Myriam Estevez de Bellerive and his adult children, Diana
Jennifer and Jessica Bellerive have also been placed on this list. Former senator Cassy and his immediate
family, including spouse Katherine Cassy Chery and a minor child are also restricted. Former South
Hervé Fourcand was the only member whose family was not included in the visa restrictions. In all, the
sanction announced targeted some 30 individuals from other countries such as the Dominican Republic,
Afghanistan, and Liberia, with the aim to hold corrupt actors worldwide.
In the past, businessman Angel Rondón Rijo was sanctioned in 2017 and in 2018, Senator Félix Bautista
was designated for being accused of participating in acts of corruption after the 2010 earthquake. Bautista
was accused by investigative journalist Nuña Pierra of financing the electoral campaigns of Michel
Martelly and Mirlande Manigat during the second round of the 2010 presidential elections. In a press
release on December 7, 2023, the Office of Foreign Asset control (OFAC) of the US Treasury announced
the sanctioning of gang leaders Johnson André alias Izo of the Village de Dieu gang, Renel Destina alias
Ti Lapli of the Gran Ravin gang, Vitel’homme Innocent of Kraze Baryè gang and Wilson Joseph alias
Lanmò san jou of the 400 Mawozo gang, for human rights violations. These individuals have been
accused of serious human rights violations including assassinations, kidnappings, taking people hostage
for ransom, theft, rape, arson, looting and burning down people’s homes.
Meanwhile, the Caricom advisory group’s efforts to arrive at an agreed upon negotiations to move the
country out of the crisis has been dealt a blow with the withdrawal of the Dessalinian popular movement,
the parti politique Mouvement patriotique populaire dessalinien (MOPOD). The group, which was one
of the political parties that signed on to the Kingston Declaration in June and member of the Collective of
Political Parties of January 30, declares that it has withdrawn from the negotiation process due to non-
compliance with three conditions of participation in a credible, transparent negotiation process consistent
with the best interests of the nation. The conditions listed include the official list of parties concerned, the
negotiation agenda and the method of decision-making. The Caricom Group of Eminent Personalities
(GEP) suggested establishing a transitional government structure to end the prolonged political impasse,
but according to the leader of MOPOD, Jean André Victor, they’re withdrawing from the negotiations but
will continue to organize the sovereign national conference and activities aimed at mobilizing citizens in
defense of sovereignty and national dignity. They conclude that any political negotiating agenda must
consider the current suffering of the population. Several political parties including MOPOD, and the
newly created front, Front uni pour une sortie de crise efficace et durable, have expressed their
disapproval of the decision to keep the current interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry in power during the
transition period.
Elsewhere, court clerks in the 18 jurisdictions across the country are embarking on a strike action on
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, calling for better working conditions and the implementation of the
agreement between their union and the ministry of justice. The strike action comes on the heels of the
ongoing strike by magistrates for several weeks now, paralyzing further an under resourced judicial
system further. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Justice, Emmelie Prophète Milcé, the National
Association of Haitian Court Clerks, L’Association nationale des greffiers haïtiens (ANAGH) is calling
for the nationwide strike action unless the department undertakes a full and complete implementation of
the agreement reached between the union and the Ministry of Justice on November 3, 2017. This
agreement calls for a gradual salary increase, the establishment of the National School of Court Clerks,

the appointment of clerks trained at the National School of Magistrates, and the direct integration of
clerks into the judiciary, among others. In the letter, the union said that they have noticed a lack of
willingness on the part of authorities at the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance, who have
not honored their financial obligations since the 2017 fiscal year. Since 2017, clerks have never received
the 5,000 gourdes salary increase recommended by the then Minister of Justice. Me Martin Aîné,
president of the union said court clerks are treated as second-class citizens, who are discriminated against.
He lamented that the file of approximately 45 clerks who were promoted by the Superior Council of the
Judiciary to serve as justices of the peace and sitting judges remains untouched.
The last strike by the clerks’ dates back to March 2023 and lasted for more than ten weeks before a
temporary truce was observed in June by the clerks, awaiting the fulfillment of commitments to address
their demands. The union informed the membership of a deadline in August 2023 was set for the adoption
and publication of the document regarding the status of Clerks by decree in the official newspaper Le
Moniteur. In case of any failure to scrupulously respect the promises made by the Minister of Justice and
Public Security to Clerks and Parquet Clerks, the strike will automatically resume without warning.
According to the agreement of October 27, 2017, non-dismissed clerks will benefit from periodic training
updates to provide better service to litigants. During the recruitment of new batches of magistrates at the
National School of Magistrates, dismissed clerks will have the right to participate in the competition. If
admitted, they will retain their employment and salary throughout the training period. Then on Thursday,
April 6, 2023, the Minister of Justice met with several representatives of the court clerk associations to
resolve the crisis. They discussed general administration issues, clerk salaries, social benefits, the
appointment of clerk students, promotions, and the strike, but this meeting did not help calm the clerks,
who continued weeks of strike before observing