US immigration agents arrest former Haitian presidential hopeful over alleged gang ties

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — US immigration agents in Florida have arrested businessman, doctor and former Haitian presidential hopeful Pierre Réginald Boulos over his alleged support of violent gangs in Haiti that the US government has deemed terrorist groups.

Boulos, arrested at his home in South Florida last week, is accused of being "engaged in a campaign of violence and gang support that contributed to Haiti's destabilisation," the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement late Monday.

Boulos was born in the United States but renounced his citizenship to run for president of Haiti in recent years. He then obtained US residency last year under the administration of President Joe Biden.

Boulos, who previously has denied a flurry of corruption allegations, is the most well-known Haitian arrested to date under an immigration crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump.

An attorney for Boulos could not be immediately reached for comment.

ICE said in its statement that Boulos also had failed to disclose in his residency application his involvement in the formation of a political party or that Haiti's government had referred him for prosecution for misusing loans.

ICE said that the State Department "has determined that certain individuals with US lawful permanent resident status have supported and collaborated with Haitian gang leaders connected to Viv Ansanm, a Haitian foreign terrorist organisation."

"The United States will not allow individuals to enjoy the benefits of legal status in our country while they are facilitating the actions of violent organisations or supporting criminal terrorist organizations abroad," the statement said.

Boulos was being held at Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, a detention center that Human Rights Watch said in a recent report is one of three in Florida that are grossly over capacity and "flagrantly violate international human rights standards."

Boulos founded several businesses while in Haiti, where he served as president of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In 2019, he created the Third Way Movement, a political party that he said at the time served as a contrast to the "shameless elite and the unscrupulous politicians who are working to bog down the country and increase the suffering of the people."

The party said it would seek "a historic political compromise that would facilitate the negotiated departure from power" of then-President Jovenel Moïse.

Boulos visited Haiti's central region in August 2019 as he rallied for support. "I am part of the system that must be destroyed," he was quoted as saying by Le Nouvelliste newspaper. "I know how to destroy it."

Moïse served as president from 2017 until he was gunned down at his private residence in July 2021. Dozens of suspects were arrested, including seventeen former Colombian soldiers who are still being interrogated by Haitian authorities.

Court documents have stated that those involved in the plot included Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a pastor, doctor and failed businessman who envisioned himself as Haiti's new leader. Elections have not been held since Moïse was killed.

Gang violence surged in the political vacuum that ensued, and Boulos soon returned to the US.

The arrest comes as the Trump administration seeks to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians after announcing it would revoke such protections for those who arrived in the US under a humanitarian parole programme.

Rod Joseph, a Haitian-American running for US Congress, said he has been working with the administration to avoid deporting people "just for the fun of it."

"If the president goes after criminals, no one is against that," he said over the phone on Monday. "But if you deport someone who doesn't commit any crime who's here seeking a better life, this is when we start having issues with the practice."

-AP

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