US accuses a powerful Haitian businessman detained by ICE of ties to violent gangs
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Immigration agents in the United States arrested Haitian businessman Dimitri Vorbe because of his alleged ties to violent gangs in his troubled Caribbean country, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.
Vorbe was arrested Tuesday and placed in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Miami area.
Officials determined that Vorbe “engaged in a campaign of violence and gang support that contributed to Haiti’s destabilization,” the U.S. Embassy in Haiti said in a social media post, adding that his activities in the U.S. could harm Washington’s foreign policy.
The post included a video with a mugshot of Vorbe and the word “detained” in red capital letters emblazoned over his face. It also showed him standing facing a camera flanked by two unidentified officials in flak jackets who were grabbing his right shoulder and left arm with their backs to the camera.
Vorbe comes from a powerful family that owned a private power company that supplied electricity in Haiti and obtained lucrative government contracts for key construction projects.
Gangs and Haiti’s elite
Vorbe is the second person from Haiti’s elite to be arrested on U.S. soil in the past two months.
In July, U.S. immigration officials arrested Pierre Réginald Boulos, a businessman, doctor and former Haitian presidential hopeful. He remains detained at Krome North Service Processing Center near Miami, along with Vorbe.
Authorities have accused Boulos of supporting violent gangs in Haiti that the U.S. government has deemed terrorist groups.
It was not immediately clear if Boulos or Vorbe have been charged. A search for court records shows no formal charges.
Some of Haiti’s elite have long been accused of financing and supporting powerful gangs that control up to 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, with violence surging in recent months.
A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan officers supporting Haiti’s National Police has struggled to quell gang violence as it remains understaffed and underfunded.
The U.N.-backed mission that began last year has less than 1,000 personnel, far below the 2,500 envisioned, and some $112 million in its trust fund — about 14% of the estimated $800 million needed a year.
Haiti on UN agenda
Vorbe’s arrest comes as Haiti’s crisis dominates some speeches and conversations at the U.N. General Assembly this week.
Kenyan President William Ruto said Monday that the biggest impediments to the current mission that ends next week were logistics, transport and support.
While he commended the U.S. government for giving the mission vehicles, he noted that “most of them were second-hand, and they broke down and put our people in grave danger when it happened in hostile areas.”
Ruto said he supports a successor mission.
“Kenya believes that it is the right thing to do,” he said. “We need a better mandate, a much more robust mandate to be able to deal with the gangs and the situation on the ground.”
The U.S. and Panama have urged the U.N. Security Council to authorize a new force of 5,550 in Haiti with the power to detain suspected gang members.
On Wednesday, Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, said the only way forward for Haiti is “coherent and sustained international action.”
He said he backs the proposal for the so-called gang-suppression force.
“The multidimensional crisis in Haiti represents a serious threat to peace and security for the Dominican Republic and the entire region,” Abinader said.
By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press
