US restricts visas for two members of Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council

January 25, 2026 5:25 PM EST

FILE PHOTO: A general view of a U.S. State Department sign outside the U.S. State Department building in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 11, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The ⁠U.S. State ⁠Department ‍said on Sunday it was imposing visa restrictions on members of Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council and ‍revoking the visas of two council members and their ​immediate families.

In a statement, the State Department attributed the visa restrictions ​to council members' alleged "involvement in the operation of gangs and other criminal organizations in Haiti, including through interference with the Government of Haiti's efforts ​to counter gangs designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the United States."

The statement did not identify any council ​members by name.

Haiti's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for ‌comment. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

The mandate of the ​council, which acts as Haiti's top ⁠executive, is scheduled to expire on February 7. No official succession plan is in place.

U.S. ‌Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime on Friday. Rubio insisted that the council dissolve as scheduled ‌but emphasized the importance of Fils-Aime remaining in his post, a State ‌Department spokesperson said.

Two council members called on Friday for the removal of Fils-Aime from his post.

The council was appointed in 2024 to ‍oversee a move toward Haiti's first election in a decade. This has been repeatedly delayed ⁠by a collapse in security during a bloody conflict between security forces and powerful, heavily armed gangs.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Diane Craft, Sergio Non and David Gregorio)



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