FTO Series: Haitian Gangs Raise Regional Security Concerns

Haiti has faced extensive political (as well as natural and humanitarian) crises in recent decades, often accompanied by rampant violence. Since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, the Haitian government has been locked in an escalating power struggle with the nation’s numerous armed gangs. In 2025, the two most prominent groups, Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, were designated as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) by the U.S. government.

Read the paper: “Beyond the Barricades: The Designation of Two Haitian Gangs, Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations” profiles the groups and discusses the regional implications of their activities and the significance of the FTO designation. The paper’s author is Edward R. Maguire, Ph.D., professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University.

Why it matters: According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 73% of guns used in criminal activity in the Caribbean come from the U.S. Limiting American arms entering Haiti and monitoring the situation’s potential for growth into a regional security threat is crucial to ensure homeland security.

Key takeaways:

• Both groups are becoming alternative centers of power to the Haitian government, exercising significant control over security, dispute resolution, taxation, and transportation routes. Viv Ansanm’s center of activity is in the capital, Port-au-Prince, while Gran Grif operates in the rural Artibonite (agricultural) region.
• Both groups deploy sophisticated operations against the government and UN mission installations. In 2024, Viv Ansanm organized a wave of attacks on prisons and other state institutions, and the UN estimated they controlled roughly 85% of Port-au-Prince. In Oct. 2024, Gran Grif conducted an offensive against the town of Pont-Sondé, killing at least 115 civilians and displacing 6,000 residents. The U.S. State Department estimates that they are responsible for 80% of civilian deaths in the Artibonite region.
• The chief security concern for the U.S. is regional instability rather than direct threats to the homeland. The weakening state could serve as a hub of transnational criminal activity, and the large-scale humanitarian displacement is affecting migration flows across the Caribbean. And while Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif’s activities are currently contained within the country, their increasing power could expand their interests beyond Haiti’s borders.

What they're saying:

• Mackenzie Harms Wickersham, Ph.D., FTO series editor
  • “The Haitian designations test whether counterterrorism tools built for ideologically driven, state-sponsored networks can work against criminal groups whose power comes from territorial control and political protection. The FTO designations may enhance efforts to disrupt finances, weapons supply chains, and the U.S.-based facilitators who connect the two.”

What’s next: This white paper is part of an NCITE research series examining the more than 30 groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. Department of State in 2025 and 2026. Look for more reports to be published this month, and a separate page featuring all of the groups.