Haiti gangs' US terrorism designation risks harming most vulnerable, NGOs warn

FILE PHOTO: Members of the Haitian Armed Forces patrol the area as people flee homes following the armed gangs violence over the weekend, many grouped behind an alliance known as Viv Ansanm, at the Poste Marchand suburb, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File Photo

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The designation of Haiti's major gangs as terrorists by Washington could risk further entrenching their power by limiting financial and humanitarian aid, NGOs focused on organized crime and human rights have warned.

The United States last week designated Viv Ansanm, the armed alliance that controls most of capital Port-au-Prince, and Gran Grif, which operates in the breadbasket Artibonite region, as terrorist groups, following similar measures made recently for Latin American drug cartels.