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Canada sanctions more of Haiti’s political elites as gang violence continues

Click to play video: 'Trudeau says Canada and its partners have discussed various scenarios should situation worsen in Haiti'
Trudeau says Canada and its partners have discussed various scenarios should situation worsen in Haiti
WATCH: Trudeau says Canada and its partners have discussed various scenarios should situation worsen in Haiti – Jan 11, 2023

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has announced new sanctions against two more Haitian political elites.

Facing sanction are former MP Arnel Belizaire and Charles Saint-Remy, a businessman associated with former president Michel Martelly, who is among the 13 others Canada has already sanctioned.

The two will be barred from entering or undertaking financial dealings in Canada.

Joly’s office says both have used their status “to protect and enable the illegal activities of armed criminal gangs, including through drug trafficking and other acts of corruption.”

Violent gangs have taken over the capital of Port-au-Prince, and Canada is seeking a consensus in Haiti on how it can help after the country’s unelected prime minister requested a military intervention.

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Former Haitian prime minister Laurent Lamothe has gone to Federal Court to contest Ottawa’s decision to sanction him last November, and the government has not yet filed a response.

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