The US Treasury Department on Tuesday announced that it had sanctioned Michel Joseph Martelly, the former president of Haiti, on drug trafficking charges.

In a statement, the Treasury said Martelly, "abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States."

US officials say Martelly worked in concert with Haitian drug traffickers while sponsoring gangs and engaging in money laundering.

"Today's action against Martelly emphasizes the significant and destabilizing role he and other corrupt political elites have played in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in Haiti," Bradley Smith, the US Treasury's acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said.

"The United States, along with our international partners, is committed to disrupting those who facilitate the drug trafficking, corruption, and other illicit activities fueling the horrific gang violence and political instability [in Haiti]," he added.

"It is unacceptable for Haitian political and economic elites to plunder Haiti's future," deputy US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

Haiti: rampant violence and a breakdown of social, political and economic order

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas, with rampant gang violence having displaced more than 578,000 of its citizens and left nearly half of its population of 11.7 million facing acute hunger. The United Nations claims that 1.6 million Haitians are at risk of starvation.

Widespread gang violence that forced the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry this April has seen killings, kidnappings and sexual violence in the country skyrocket.

An alliance of gangs controls some 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince. The ongoing crisis in Haiti prompted the deployment of hundreds of police officers from Kenya as part of an international plan to quell violence and restore order.

Tuesday's sanctions will freeze Martelly's US assets and bar US citizens from doing business with him. Canada similarly sanctioned Martelly and two former prime ministers in 2022.

A former musician, Michel Martelly served as Haiti's president from 2011 to 2016.

js/lo (AFP, Reuters)