(San Juan) The American immigration agents arrested Dimitri Vorbe, one of the most powerful businessmen in Haiti.
Mr. Vorbe was held by the United States Immigration and Customs Services (ICE) on Tuesday, according to online information. He was detained in the center of Krome North in Miami.
The reasons for his arrest were unknown on Tuesday, research in the judicial archives in Florida revealed no official indictment. A spokesperson for the ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
This occurs two months after the ICE arrest of Réginald Boulos, businessman, doctor and former candidate for the Haitian presidency. Authorities accuse Mr. Boulos of supporting violent gangs in Haiti that the United States government considers terrorist groups. “With the arrest of Boulos and Vorbe, we see a layer of the Haitian society affected in its places of exile,” said Michael Deibert, author of two books on Haiti.
“A message is sent to the High Haitian political and economic elite: it is no longer untouchable,” he said.
A rich descendant
Mr. Vorbe and his family have the Société Générale d’Inerie SA, a private electricity company which was one of the main electricity suppliers of the Haitian public enterprise.
The Vorbe family was also known for major road construction projects and other infrastructure under former President René Préval.
“They received a lot of money from the state,” said Jake Johnston, international research director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, based in Washington. “Boulos and Dimitri Vorbe were both members of the elite, the oligarchs that Jovenel was pursuing. »»
In 2020, the administration of former murdered president Jovenel Moïse seized Mr. Vorbe’s electricity company following corruption charges.
“In Haiti, Dimitri Vorbe, Réginald Boulos, and many elite families are not much appreciated,” said Johnston about these arrests. “There are many who will rejoice in a country where the judicial system is failing, because it is a semblance of empowerment, but we do not know what it is for. (…) How does it all integrate into a strategy that really benefits Haiti? »»
American repression
Vorbe was placed in detention one day after the US government has appointed two former Haitian officials close to the Vorbe family for their involvement in “significant corruption”.
The designation of Arnel Bélizaire, former Haitian deputy, and Antonio Cheramy, former senator, means that them and their immediate families are ineligible to entry to the United States.
“The American government will relentlessly continue those who support terrorist gangs by charges, arrests, sanctions, arms seizures and other immigration restrictions,” Christopher Landau, deputy secretary of the United States Department, said on Monday.
The Vorbe family is not only economically powerful, but also politically.
Joël “Pasha” Vorbe is a member of the powerful political party Fanmi Lavalas, and a lawyer for the Vorbe electricity company has been appointed Minister of Justice in recent years. He then resigned and was sanctioned by the Canadian government.
Some families of the Haitian elite have long been accused of funding and collaborating with gangs that make the law in 90 % of the country’s capital.
