ICE agents arrest one of Haiti’s most powerful and wealthy businessmen on US soil
SAN JUAN Puerto Rico AP Federal immigration agents have arrested Dimitri Vorbe one of Haiti s greater part powerful businessmen and the latest elite figure from the troubled Caribbean country to be detained on U S soil Vorbe was in custody of U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday according to online records He was being held at Krome North System Processing Center in Miami It wasn t instantly clear why Vorbe was arrested or if he faces any charges A search for court records in Florida on Tuesday revealed no formal charges An ICE spokesperson did not forthwith return a message seeking comment His arrest comes two months after ICE agents in Florida arrested R ginald Boulos a businessman physician and former Haitian presidential hopeful Administration have accused Boulos of supporting violent gangs in Haiti that the U S cabinet has deemed terrorist groups With the arrests of Boulos and Vorbe you are seeing a strata of Haitian society touched in their places of exile stated Michael Deibert author of Notes From the Last Testament The Struggle for Haiti and Haiti Will Not Perish A Contemporary History A message is being sent to the upper echelon of Haiti s political and economic elite that they re not untouchable anymore he reported A wealthy scion Vorbe and his family own Soci t G n rale d nergie S A a private power company that was one of the biggest suppliers of electricity to Haiti s state-owned company The Vorbe family also was known for securing major cabinet construction projects for the building of roads and other infrastructure under former President Ren Pr val They were getting lots of money from the state stated Jake Johnston international research director at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Plan Research Both Boulos and Dimitri Vorbe were the two members of the elite the oligarchs that Jovenel went after In the administration of slain former President Jovenel Mo se seized Vorbe s power company following accusations of corruption There is not much love lost in Haiti either for Dimitri Vorbe or R ginald Boulos or countless of the elite families Johnston revealed of the arrests Countless people will cheer it in a country with a broken judicial system as it s particular sliver of accountability but we don t know what any of this is for How does this all fit together into a strategy that authentically benefits Haiti A US crackdown Vorbe was taken into custody a day after the U S executive designated two former Haitian inhabitants functionaries who were close to the Vorbe family for involvement in vital corruption while in office The designation against Arnel Belizaire a former member of Haiti s Chamber of Deputies and Antonio Cheramy a former senator means that they and their immediate family are generally ineligible to enter the U S The U S cabinet will remain relentless in pursuing those supporting terrorist gangs through indictments arrests sanctions arms seizures and other immigration restrictions Christopher Landau deputy secretary of the U S Department of State commented Monday The Vorbe family is not only economically powerful but politically as well Joel Pacha Vorbe is a member of the powerful Fanmi Lavalas political party while an attorney for the Vorbe s power company was appointed minister of justice in contemporary years He later resigned and was sanctioned by Canada s authorities Specific elite families in Haiti have long been accused of financing and working with gangs that control of the capital Port-au-Prince with gang violence surging in modern years Source
