Haitian Influencers Indexed by UN Report

In a letter dated February 4, 2025, addressed to the President of the Security Council, the United Nations Secretary-General transmitted a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the sources and routes of arms trafficking as well as illicit financial transactions in Haiti, particularly for the period from September to December 2024.

In this report, UNODC analyzes the rise of gang-related violence and assesses the involvement of certain political and economic actors who enable these criminal networks to continue to exist. It also demonstrates how several gangs use social media both as tools for propaganda and recruitment of new “soldiers,” and for money laundering activities, particularly through influencers.

Indeed, gangs are increasingly present on social media and have thus established contacts with influencers, organizing live sessions (“lives”) to promote and boast about their criminal activities.

The report thus indexed several influencers whose platforms allegedly served to launder money or channel funds to criminal networks. Thus, the names Tati Mendel, Commandant, Parrola, Belle-Enfant, and Trapalman were identified as facilitators of this type of activity.

This report comes in a context where several authorities had already prohibited users from participating in the spread of criminal videos on social media. However, no clear legislation or policy on cybercrime has been developed or implemented to regulate and counter this phenomenon, leaving the way open for criminals who act with complete impunity, primarily through digital platforms.