The United States has officially designated two major Haitian gang coalitions as foreign terrorist organizations, in a move aimed at curbing escalating violence and instability in the Caribbean nation.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday that the Viv Ansanm coalition—comprised of more than two dozen heavily armed gangs—and the Gran Grif gang have been labeled both Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists under U.S. law.
“The age of impunity for those supporting violence in Haiti is over,” Rubio said in a statement. “They are a direct threat to U.S. national security interests in our region.”
The State Department cited the groups’ involvement in the widespread killing of civilians, attacks on Haitian security forces and international personnel, and efforts to overthrow Haiti’s fragile transitional government with the goal of creating a gang-dominated state.
Haiti has endured years of spiraling violence, with gangs now estimated to control 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Murders, kidnappings, and sexual violence have surged amid a near-total collapse of state authority.
Despite the recent deployment of a Kenya-led international security mission aimed at bolstering Haiti’s police force, the violence has persisted, casting doubt on the mission’s effectiveness and deepening the humanitarian crisis.
The new U.S. terrorist designations allow Washington to impose severe financial and legal penalties on anyone found to be aiding or abetting the listed groups.
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Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
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Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
Iran and Afghanistan are seeking closer cooperation in agriculture, livestock and irrigation during a three-day Iranian ministerial visit to Kabul, as both sides look to strengthen trade and rural economies.
At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July, according to UN investigators, marking the highest monthly civilian casualty toll since March 2022.
Record rainfall in Japan killed eight people and stranded thousands of travellers at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Friday, as flooding disrupted transport and cut power to 20,000 homes.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 14th of August, covering the latest developments.
Ukraine’s attacks on Russian ports, refineries and shipping infrastructure are putting Moscow’s energy exports under growing pressure and disrupting key trade routes, raising concerns over commercial shipping and global food supplies.
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