The U.S. Department of State announced Wednesday a reward of up to $3 million for any information leading to the dismantling of the financial mechanisms of Haiti’s two main criminal organizations, Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, both designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).
This announcement marks a turning point in the U.S. strategy to combat instability in Haiti. The “Rewards for Justice” (RFJ) program, managed by the State Department, offers a substantial reward as well as potential relocation for any information leading to the disruption of revenue sources and financial networks of the Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif gangs.
These two criminal alliances, responsible for much of the violence that has plagued the country for several years, were officially designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by Washington in May 2025. The decision aimed to cut off their funding and prosecute their supporters on U.S. soil.
Created in September 2023, Viv Ansanm (“Live Together” in Haitian Creole) is a strategic alliance born from the merger of Port-au-Prince’s two main rival factions: G9 and G-Pép. This coalition quickly established an unprecedented power dynamic against Haitian institutions, the State Department noted.
Members of Viv Ansanm are accused of waging a campaign of systematic violence aimed at destabilizing the government. Their actions include coordinated attacks on the penitentiary system (including the massive prison escapes of March 2024), police stations, hospitals, and Port-au-Prince’s main international airport. According to U.S. authorities, this organized terror directly contributed to the forced resignation of then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry in April 2024.
Beyond political terror, Viv Ansanm is directly involved in massacres of civilians, gang rapes, and acts of violence targeting American citizens in Haiti. The gang finances its activities through systematic extortion of the population, kidnappings for ransom, arms trafficking, and forced recruitment, including of child soldiers.
While Viv Ansanm dominates the capital, Gran Grif reigns unchallenged over the Artibonite department, the country’s agricultural breadbasket. Considered the largest criminal organization in this region, Gran Grif was created around 2016 by former deputy Prophane Victor, according to U.S. authorities.
Originally an armed militia intended to secure the Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite constituency to facilitate the politician’s election, the group quickly evolved into a formidable gang, spreading terror among rural populations. Gran Grif members have been responsible for mass kidnappings, murders, sexual violence against women and children, crop looting, cattle rustling, and extortion.
The group has also challenged international security forces. In February 2025, an attack attributed to Gran Grif claimed the life of a Kenyan officer from the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), authorized by the United Nations. In 2023, the UN had already accused Gran Grif of flagrant human rights violations.
A Financial Net to Smother the Gangs
The reward offered by the Rewards for Justice program is not aimed at obtaining military intelligence on gang leaders but rather at targeting the nerve center of the conflict: money. The State Department seeks to identify and dismantle the financial networks that allow these organizations to survive.
The information sought includes:
Businesses, bank accounts, and investments owned or controlled by the gangs or their financiers
Financial contributions made by donors or facilitators
Significant transactions conducted by financial institutions or exchange houses on behalf of these groups
Shell companies used to launder criminal proceeds
Transfers of funds, weapons, ammunition, or drones
Specific criminal activities (kidnappings, extortion) that generate direct profits for these organizations
Since their designation as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) in May 2025, the United States has frozen all assets and interests of Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif under U.S. jurisdiction. It is now formally prohibited for any U.S. person to engage in transactions with these entities.
Knowingly providing material support, resources, or funding to these groups constitutes a criminal offense subject to federal prosecution. This provision aims to deter the diaspora or any international intermediaries who would participate, directly or indirectly, in financing violence in Haiti.
How to Submit Information?
The Rewards for Justice program, established in 1984, has paid over $250 million to more than 125 individuals worldwide who provided crucial information for U.S. national security.
U.S. authorities encourage anyone with actionable information to contact the program via secure applications Signal, WhatsApp, or Telegram at +1-202-702-7843. Source confidentiality is guaranteed.
For more information, the public can visit the program’s official website: www.rewardsforjustice.net.
With this initiative, Washington hopes to create cracks in the financial structures of Haitian gangs, betting on the deterrent effect of the reward and potential internal collaborations. A strategy that, if successful, could deprive armed groups of the means to continue their terrorist grip on millions of Haitians.
