On Monday, November 24, the U.S. government imposed visa restrictions on an unnamed high-ranking government official, accusing him of supporting gangs and other criminal organizations and hindering Haiti's fight against terrorist gangs. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46287-haiti-news-zapping.html

On Tuesday the 25th, the Associated Press (AP) revealed that the official in question was Fritz Alphonse Jean, a member of the Presidential Transitional Council, following a statement Jean gave to the AP in which he rejected all the accusations against him. His U.S. visa and those of his family members were revoked.

On Tuesday, Fritz Alphonse Jean held a press conference at the Villa d'Accueil to clarify the situation following the revocation of his U.S. visa. He stated that he has no connection whatsoever with gangs. He believes the real reason for this sanction is something else entirely.

"As soon as we began to consider the possibility of changing the Head of Government, members of the Council received threats of visa cancellations and other sanctions from the representative of the United States Embassy and the Canadian Ambassador." He revealed that his office had provided the press with excerpts of messages exchanged via WhatsApp with the Canadian Ambassador to Haiti and the American Chargé d’Affaires, Henry Wooster, in which they allegedly made it clear that if the Transitional Council did not abandon the idea of ​​replacing Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, certain advisors would be subject to diplomatic sanctions, including visa cancellations.

Jean stated that international sanctions will not deter him from continuing his fight and questioned the reasons for the support given to Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé…

SL/ HaitiLibre