II 

Calendar No. 47 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 396 

To require the Secretary of State to submit an annual report to Congress 

regarding the ties between criminal gangs and political and economic 

elites in Haiti and impose sanctions on political and economic elites 

involved in such criminal activities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2023 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MAY 4, 2023 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of State to submit an annual report 

to Congress regarding the ties between criminal gangs 

and political and economic elites in Haiti and impose 

sanctions on political and economic elites involved in 

such criminal activities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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•S 396 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Haiti Criminal Collu3 sion Transparency Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) According to a United Nations estimate, ap7 proximately 167 criminal gangs operated in Haiti in 

8 October 2021, exerting territorial control over as 

9 much as two-thirds of the country. 

10 (2) Haitian armed criminal gangs, the most 

11 prominent of which are the G9 Family and Allies 

12 and 400 Mawozo gangs, conduct violent crimes, in13 cluding murder, rape, arms and drug trafficking, 

14 racketeering, kidnapping, and blockades of fuel and 

15 aid deliveries. These crimes have perpetuated the on16 going security and humanitarian crises in Haiti, 

17 which have worsened since the assassination of 

18 President Jovenel Mo ̈ıse on July 7, 2021. 

19 (3) The United Nations Office of the High 

20 Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human 

21 Rights Service jointly found a 333 percent increase 

22 in human rights violations and abuses against the 

23 rights to life and security in Haiti between July 

24 2018 and December 2019. 

25 (4) At least 19,000 Haitians were forcibly dis26 placed during 2021 due to rising criminal violence. 


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•S 396 RS

1 (5) At least 803 kidnappings were reported in 

2 Haiti during the first 10 months of 2021, including 

3 the kidnapping of more than 16 United States citi4 zens, giving Haiti having the highest per capita kid5 napping rate of any country in the world. 

6 (6) There is significant evidence of collusion be7 tween criminal gangs and economic and political 

8 elites in Haiti, including members of the Haitian 

9 National Police, which has resulted in widespread 

10 impunity and directly contributed to Haiti’s current 

11 security crisis. 

12 (7) On December 10, 2020, the Office of For13 eign Assets Control of the Department of the Treas14 ury designated former Haitian National Police offi15 cer Jimmy Ch ́erizier, former Director General of the 

16 Ministry of the Interior Fednel Monchery, and 

17 former Departmental Delegate Joseph Pierre Rich18 ard Duplan under the Global Magnitsky Human 

19 Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 

20 Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) for their 

21 connections to armed criminal gangs, including orga22 nizing the November 2018 La Saline massacre. 

23 SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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•S 396 RS

1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Select Committee on Intelligence 

7 of the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Permanent Select Committee on 

11 Intelligence of the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) ECONOMIC ELITES.—The term ‘‘economic 

13 elites’’ means board members, officers, and execu14 tives of groups, committees, corporations, or other 

15 entities that exert substantial influence or control 

16 over Haiti’s economy, infrastructure, or particular 

17 industries. 

18 (3) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 

19 ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given 

20 such term in section 3(4) of the National Security 

21 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 

22 (4) POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ELITES.—The 

23 term ‘‘political and economic elites’’ means political 

24 elites and economic elites. 


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•S 396 RS

1 (5) POLITICAL ELITES.—The term ‘‘political 

2 elites’’ means current and former government offi3 cials and their high-level staff, political party lead4 ers, and political committee leaders. 

5 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

8 thereafter for the following 5 years, the Secretary of 

9 State, in coordination with the intelligence commu10 nity, shall submit a report to the appropriate con11 gressional committees regarding the ties between 

12 criminal gangs and political and economic elites in 

13 Haiti. The report shall— 

14 (A) identify prominent criminal gangs in 

15 Haiti, describe their criminal activities, and 

16 identify their primary geographic areas of oper17 ations; 

18 (B) list Haitian political and economic 

19 elites who have links to criminal gangs; 

20 (C) describe in detail the relationship be21 tween the individuals listed pursuant to sub22 paragraph (B) and the criminal gangs identified 

23 pursuant to subparagraph (A); 

24 (D) list Haitian political and economic 

25 elites with links to criminal activities who are 


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•S 396 RS

1 currently subjected to visa restrictions or sanc2 tions by the United States, its international 

3 partners, or the United Nations, including in4 formation regarding— 

5 (i) the date on which each such Hai6 tian political or economic elite was des7 ignated for restrictions or sanctions; 

8 (ii) which countries have designated 

9 such Haitian political and economic elites 

10 for restrictions or sanctions; and 

11 (iii) for Haitian political and economic 

12 elites who were designated by the United 

13 States, the statutory basis for such des14 ignation; 

15 (E) describe in detail how Haitian political 

16 and economic elites use their relationships with 

17 criminal gangs to advance their political and 

18 economic interests and agenda; 

19 (F) include an assessment of how the na20 ture and extent of collusion between political 

21 and economic elites and criminal gangs threat22 ens the Haitian people and United States na23 tional interests and activities in the country, in24 cluding the provision of security assistance to 

25 the Haitian government; and 


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•S 396 RS

1 (G) include an assessment of potential ac2 tions that the Government of the United States 

3 and the Government of Haiti could take to ad4 dress the findings made pursuant to subpara5 graph (F). 

6 (2) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required 

7 under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassi8 fied form, but may include a classified annex. 

9 (c) DESIGNATIONS OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

10 ELITES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 

12 coordination with other relevant Federal agencies 

13 and departments, shall identify persons identified 

14 pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sub15 section (b)(1) who may be subjected to visa restric16 tions and sanctions under— 

17 (A) section 7031(c) of the Department of 

18 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Pro19 grams Appropriations Act, 2022 (division K of 

20 Public Law 117–103; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note); or 

21 (B) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky 

22 Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 

23 10102). 

24 (2) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—Not later than 

25 30 days after the date on which the report is subVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S396.RS S396

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•S 396 RS

1 mitted pursuant to subsection (b), the President 

2 shall impose, on individuals identified pursuant to 

3 paragraph (1), to the extent applicable, the sanc4 tions referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

5 such paragraph. 

6 (3) WAIVER.—The President may waive the re7 quirements under paragraphs (1) and (2) with re8 spect to a foreign person if the President certifies 

9 and reports to the appropriate congressional com10 mittees before such waiver is to take effect that such 

11 waiver— 

12 (A) would serve a vital national interest of 

13 the United States; or 

14 (B) is necessary for the delivery of human15 itarian assistance or other assistance that sup16 ports basic human needs. 

17 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The list of persons 

18 identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B) shall be 

19 posted on a publicly accessible website of the De20 partment of State beginning on the date on which 

21 the report required under subsection (b)(1) is sub22 mitted to Congress. 

23 (d) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to have effect 

24 on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment 

25 of this Act. 


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9 

•S 396 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Haiti Criminal Collu3 sion Transparency Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) According to a United Nations estimate, ap7 proximately 167 criminal gangs operated in Haiti in 

8 October 2021, exerting territorial control over as 

9 much as two-thirds of the country. 

10 (2) Haitian armed criminal gangs, the most 

11 prominent of which are the G9 Family and Allies 

12 and 400 Mawozo gangs, conduct violent crimes, in13 cluding murder, rape, arms and drug trafficking, 

14 racketeering, kidnapping, and blockades of fuel and 

15 aid deliveries. These crimes have perpetuated the on16 going security and humanitarian crises in Haiti, 

17 which have worsened since the assassination of Presi18 dent Jovenel Moı ̈se on July 7, 2021. 

19 (3) The United Nations Office of the High Com20 missioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights 

21 Service jointly found a 333 percent increase in 

22 human rights violations and abuses against the rights 

23 to life and security in Haiti between July 2018 and 

24 December 2019. 

25 (4) At least 19,000 Haitians were forcibly dis26 placed during 2021 due to rising criminal violence. 


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•S 396 RS

1 (5) At least 803 kidnappings were reported in 

2 Haiti during the first 10 months of 2021, including 

3 the kidnapping of more than 16 United States citi4 zens, giving Haiti having the highest per capita kid5 napping rate of any country in the world. 

6 (6) There is significant evidence of collusion be7 tween criminal gangs and economic and political 

8 elites in Haiti, including members of the Haitian Na9 tional Police, which has resulted in widespread impu10 nity and directly contributed to Haiti’s current secu11 rity crisis. 

12 (7) On December 10, 2020, the Office of Foreign 

13 Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury des14 ignated former Haitian National Police officer 

15 Jimmy Che ́rizier, former Director General of the Min16 istry of the Interior Fednel Monchery, and former De17 partmental Delegate Joseph Pierre Richard Duplan 

18 under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Account19 ability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114– 

20 328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) for their connections to 

21 armed criminal gangs, including organizing the No22 vember 2018 La Saline massacre. 

23 SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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•S 396 RS

1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit3 tees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

9 House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Permanent Select Committee on In11 telligence of the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) ECONOMIC ELITES.—The term ‘‘economic 

13 elites’’ means board members, officers, and executives 

14 of groups, committees, corporations, or other persons 

15 and entities that exert substantial influence or control 

16 over Haiti’s economy, infrastructure, or particular 

17 industries. 

18 (3) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘in19 telligence community’’ has the meaning given such 

20 term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 

21 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 

22 (4) POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ELITES.—The 

23 term ‘‘political and economic elites’’ means political 

24 elites and economic elites. 


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•S 396 RS

1 (5) POLITICAL ELITES.—The term ‘‘political 

2 elites’’ means current and former government officials 

3 and their high-level staff, political party leaders, and 

4 political committee leaders. 

5 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

8 thereafter for the following 5 years, the Secretary of 

9 State, in coordination with the intelligence commu10 nity, shall submit a report to the appropriate congres11 sional committees regarding the ties between criminal 

12 gangs and political and economic elites in Haiti. The 

13 report shall— 

14 (A) identify prominent criminal gangs in 

15 Haiti, describe their criminal activities, and 

16 identify their primary geographic areas of oper17 ations; 

18 (B) list Haitian political and economic 

19 elites who have links to criminal gangs; 

20 (C) describe in detail the relationship be21 tween the individuals listed pursuant to sub22 paragraph (B) and the criminal gangs identified 

23 pursuant to subparagraph (A); 

24 (D) list Haitian political and economic 

25 elites with links to criminal activities who are 


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•S 396 RS

1 currently subjected to visa restrictions or sanc2 tions by the United States, its international 

3 partners, or the United Nations, including infor4 mation regarding— 

5 (i) the date on which each such Hai6 tian political or economic elite was des7 ignated for restrictions or sanctions; 

8 (ii) which countries have designated 

9 such Haitian political and economic elites 

10 for restrictions or sanctions; and 

11 (iii) for Haitian political and eco12 nomic elites who were designated by the 

13 United States, the statutory basis for such 

14 designation; 

15 (E) describe in detail how Haitian political 

16 and economic elites use their relationships with 

17 criminal gangs to advance their political and 

18 economic interests and agenda; 

19 (F) include an assessment of how the nature 

20 and extent of collusion between political and eco21 nomic elites and criminal gangs threatens the 

22 Haitian people and United States national in23 terests and activities in the country, including 

24 the provision of security assistance to the Hai25 tian government; and 


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•S 396 RS

1 (G) include an assessment of potential ac2 tions that the Government of the United States 

3 and the Government of Haiti could take to ad4 dress the findings made pursuant to subpara5 graph (F). 

6 (2) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing and imple7 menting the report required under paragraph (1), the 

8 Secretary of State shall consult with Haitian dias9 pora communities in the United States and civil soci10 ety organizations on topics including humanitarian 

11 assistance mechanisms for overcoming collusion be12 tween Haitian political and economic elites. 

13 (3) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required 

14 under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassi15 fied form, but may include a classified annex. 

16 (c) DESIGNATIONS OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

17 ELITES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in co19 ordination with other relevant Federal agencies and 

20 departments, shall identify persons identified pursu21 ant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(1) 

22 who may be subjected to visa restrictions and sanc23 tions under— 

24 (A) section 7031(c) of the Department of 

25 State, Foreign Operations, and Related ProVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S396.RS S396

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•S 396 RS

1 grams Appropriations Act, 2022 (division K of 

2 Public Law 117–103; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note); 

3 (B) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky 

4 Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 

5 10102); or 

6 (C) any other provision of law. 

7 (2) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—Not later than 

8 30 days after the date on which the report is sub9 mitted pursuant to subsection (b), the President shall 

10 impose, on individuals identified pursuant to para11 graph (1), to the extent applicable, the sanctions re12 ferred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such para13 graph. 

14 (3) WAIVER.—The President may waive the re15 quirements under paragraphs (1) and (2) with re16 spect to a foreign person if the President certifies and 

17 reports to the appropriate congressional committees 

18 before such waiver is to take effect that such waiver— 

19 (A) would serve a vital national interest of 

20 the United States; or 

21 (B) is necessary for the delivery of humani22 tarian assistance or other assistance that sup23 ports basic human needs. 

24 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The list of persons 

25 identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B) shall be 


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•S 396 RS

1 posted on a publicly accessible website of the Depart2 ment of State beginning on the date on which the re3 port required under subsection (b)(1) is submitted to 

4 Congress. 

5 (d) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to have effect on 

6 the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act. 


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Calendar No. 47 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 396 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of State to submit an antivities. and economic elites involved in such criminal ac- elites in Haiti and impose sanctions on political tween criminal gangs and political and economic nual report to Congress regarding the ties beMAY 4, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 


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