SAN DIEGO, United States (CMC) – The California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) is urging the Donald Trump administration to reverse its decision to designate two prominent Haitian gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs).

Last Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the State Department’s designation of Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif as FTOs and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).

HBA said that it is “strongly” opposed to the designation of FTOs for the two Haitian gangs. Instead, it is urging the Trump administration to impose “targeted sanctions” under the Global Magnitsky Act.

“The current designation, absent a comprehensive strategy that addresses Haiti’s insecurity and humanitarian crisis, would be legally unsound, diplomatically damaging, and devastating to innocent Haitians,” HBA executive director Guerline Jozef told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

She said that, under Section 219 of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, an entity may be designated as an FTO only if it is a foreign organisation, engages in “terrorist activity” or “terrorism” and its activity threatens the national security of the United States or the safety of US nationals.

“Haitian gangs, while undeniably violent and destabilising, are criminal in nature, not ideological,” Jozef, adding “, their motives are rooted in territorial control, extortion, and survival amid state collapse, not in political or religious extremism.

“These groups do not fit the statutory definition of terrorism and should not be mischaracterised to justify punitive immigration or security policies. A Foreign Terrorist Organisation designation would not weaken the gangs, it would criminalise survivors, block humanitarian aid, and escalate deportations of people fleeing for their lives.”

Jozef urged the Trump administration to “pursue lawful, effective tools, not political theatre,” calling on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of American States (OAS) to “speak against this designation”.

Jozef also echoed the concerns expressed by US Congressman Gregory Meeks, a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who warned that an FTO designation “absent a clear, comprehensive US strategy to defeat the gangs and their enablers, is counterproductive and will only exacerbate Haitians’ suffering”.

Jozef said such a designation would also “trigger immigration bars under US law, punish victims coerced by gangs under the ‘material support’ doctrine, and deter NGOs (non-governmental organisations) from delivering aid to areas most in need.

“It would further destabilise the region, strain US-Caribbean relations and complicate multilateral coordination on the ground,” she said, adding that the move by Washington “reflects a troubling precedent in how the United States may continue to expand the use of counterterrorism frameworks to address complex social and political crises, particularly in the Western Hemisphere.”

Jozef said rather than designations that isolate and harm, she is urging the Trump administration to “increase targeted sanctions on financiers, arms traffickers and corrupt elites, including American citizens, who are aiding and abetting gangs in their criminal activities; (and) increase funding for the Haitian National Police and other security forces”.

In addition, she said HBA would like the administration to restrict the flow of weapons coming to Haiti from the United States; work with neighboring countries, such as the Dominican Republic, to also restrict the flow of weapons into the country; invest in the rebuilding of the Haitian State through direct foreign investments; bolster funding for Haitian civil society and local governance; strengthen legal pathways for Haitians seeking protection in the US; and name a Special Envoy from the Haitian Diaspora to report directly to the White House National Security Council (NSC).

“Haitian Bridge Alliance remains committed to advocating for policy rooted in justice, strategy and humanity. We call on the State Department to reverse this designation and instead lead a principled, effective response that empowers Haitians, not punishes them.”

In announcing the designations, Rubio said Haitian gangs, including the Viv Ansanm coalition and Gran Grif, are “the primary source of instability and violence in Haiti.

“They are a direct threat to US national security interests in our region. These gangs have killed and continue attacking the people of Haiti, Haitian security forces, and Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission personnel, and are committed to overthrowing the government of Haiti.

“Their ultimate goal is creating a gang-controlled state where illicit trafficking and other criminal activities operate freely and terrorise Haitian citizens. Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against these vicious groups and are an effective way to curtail support for their terrorist activities.”

He said that engaging in transactions with members of these groups “entails risk in relation to counterterrorism sanctions authorities, not only for Haitians but also for US lawful permanent residents and US citizens,” Rubo said.

The US Secretary of State said individuals and entities providing material support or resources to Viv Ansanm or Gran Grif could face criminal charges and inadmissibility or removal from the United States.

He said the Trump administration commends “the extraordinary bravery of the Haitian National Police and all international partners supporting the MSS mission for their ongoing efforts to establish stability and security in Haiti.

The US Department of State said Viv Ansanm is a group formed in September 2023 as a coalition of gangs through an alliance between the two main gang factions operating in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital: G-9 and G-Pép.

It said that since 2022, Gran Grif has been responsible for 80 per cent of civilian death reports in Artibonite.