The sanctions Canada announced this weekend against six high-ranking Haitian politicians may or may not succeed in changing their behaviour — but they did show that the government of Canada is not as committed to Haiti’s ruling party as the Haitian opposition has claimed.
All six of the sanctioned figures were connected to the Parti Haitien Tet Kale (PHTK) or “Haitian Bald-Head Party.” They include former president Michel Martelly, whose hairless head gave the party its name.
As if to make the rebuke clearer, PM Justin Trudeau told reporters at the Francophonie Summit in Tunisia on Sunday that Canada’s actions in Haiti are not coordinated with Haiti’s de facto government.
“Our approach now is not about doing what one political party or the government wants,” he said. “We cannot simply support one side or the other on the political spectrum in Haiti, but this time we’ve implemented serious sanctions on the elite, on these oligarchs, specific individuals who for too long have been directly profiting from violence and instability in Haiti that is harming the Haitian people.”
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly added that the sanctions “are linked to the fact that (the six) are profiting from the violence that is being weaponized by gangs in Haiti. And therefore our goal is to make sure that these people that are profiting from the violence, that are part of a corrupted system, are facing accountability.”
It all points to a shift in the federal government’s view of the party that has effectively ruled Haiti for a decade.
A ‘charming’ former president
Retired Canadian diplomat Gilles Rivard got to know Michel Martelly well for two reasons. Firstly, he was the Canadian ambassador in Haiti — the only country in the world where the Canadian ambassador has major influence as a local political heavyweight.
Secondly, they were neighbours.
“The official residence of the Canadian ambassador in Haiti is next door to Mr. Martelly’s residence,” Rivard told CBC News.
The president and neighbour Rivard remembers was a “very easy-going man” who had developed his people skills as a successful performer of Haitian Compas music.
“Michel Martelly is what we call a seducer,” he said. “He’s a man that is on the stage, so he knows how to interact with people and I remember having a very good relation with him.”
Still, there were indications the former musician known as “Sweet Mickey” could be less sweet in private.
“He could be very charming publicly,” said Girard. “But when he had to deal with issues with his party and ministers, he was probably a different person. And yet he was close to Canada.
“Canada had a good relation with Martelly.”
The Canadian sanctions were widely reported and commented on in Haiti, where the PHTK-dominated Ariel Henry government is unpopular.
Rivard said the high-profile names on Canada’s sanction list — people like former president Martelly and former prime ministers Laurent Lamothe and Jean Henry Ceant — sent the message that no one is too senior to be singled out.
Former Haitian prime minister Laurent Lamothe in 2012. (Dieu Nalio Chery/Associated Press)
“It’s not just low-hanging fruit. You’re trying to get, you know, fruits very high in the tree,” he told CBC News. “We named three heavyweights in Haitian politics, so it will have an impact.
“It will send a very strong message to people that they could be added to that list, and by openly supporting gangs they expose themselves, and I think they will be much more cautious.”
While Canadian sanctions on Russian oligarchs tend to be mostly symbolic, Rivard said Canadian sanctions on figures from the Haitian elite can have a very real impact.
“A lot of Haitians have properties in United States, in Canada and in France,” he said. “You would be surprised to know how many Haitians have a Canadian passport in their drawer in case they need it.”
A mansion in Quebec
Martelly’s foreign holdings are concentrated not in Canada but in Palm Beach, Florida, and he has not been sanctioned by the U.S. government so far.
But one of those sanctioned, Senator Rony Celestin, is a textbook case of how Canadian sanctions can hurt Haitian elites.
Senator Rony Celestin is one of the last officials in Haiti who still has a valid electoral mandate. Canada accuses him of collaborating with armed gangs. (Facebook)
He will no longer be able to enjoy his $4.25 million home in an exclusive area of Laval, Quebec, which he owns with his wife Marie Louisa Celestin, who also serves as a consular official of Haiti in Montreal.
Celestin is one of the last politicians left in Haiti who enjoys a democratic mandate, although his six-year term is set to expire in little over a month and he already has announced his retirement from public life.
Haitian Senator Rony Celestin’s $4.25 million home in Laval-sur-le-Lac, Quebec. (Realtor listing)
Celestin claims to have made his fortune in the import-export business and through a company called PetroGaz Haiti S.A., which claims on its website to be “among the leaders in the petroleum industry … offering premium services worldwide.”
In addition to its oil and gas holdings, PetroGaz Haiti claims large operations in shipping and in agriculture. But there is little real-world evidence of PGH’s extensive holdings.
Senators trade accusations
Celestin’s feud in June with another Haitian PHTK senator, Willot Joseph, saw the two exchange accusations of corruption and criminality on social media and on Haiti’s airwaves.
Willot Joseph is no angel himself. In 2019 he admitted to accepting a $100,000 US bribe to vote to confirm a prime minister-designate.
“I don’t see anything wrong with receiving money during difficult times,” he told Gazette Haiti. “I take it and I don’t have to be [a] hypocrite with anyone.”
But Joseph’s allegations against Celestin were significantly worse. In addition to claiming Celestin was a drug trafficker, he accused him of orchestrating two murders — including that of journalist Néhémie Joseph, whose bullet-riddled body was found in the trunk of a car in Celestin’s fiefdom of Mirebalais in 2019.
Celestin accused Joseph of running a car theft ring and consorting with gangs.
The two feuding senators called a truce only after each had thoroughly discredited the other.
‘Mercenaries, not gangs’
Frantz Andre, a Haitian-Canadian activist in Montreal, did more than anyone to shine a light on Celestin’s hard-to-explain wealth and his life of luxury in Canada.
He organized protests by members of Montreal’s large Haitian diaspora at the Laval mansion.
He said the house at 391 Rue les Erables in Laval-sur-le-Lac may be only part of Celestin’s Canadian holdings.
“About a week ago, a real estate agent called me and told me that they also have other real estate in Saint-Eustache,” he said.
He said he’s glad to see Canada taking action against political leaders like Celestin and Martelly, although it should have happened earlier.
“Everybody knew about Michel Martelly for years,” he said. “Everybody knew about his brother-in-law, Charles ‘Kiko’ Saint-Rémy, who’s known to be a drug dealer. So Canada has known that.”
He said he sees the sanctions as a positive “first step”.
“But we think there’s still a way to go, going after the real criminals, and the real criminals are those fifteen oligarch families who’ve basically been running the country economically, politically, and who are funding gangs as well,” he said.
In fact, Andre said, the notion of “gangs” terrorizing Haiti obscures the real picture.
“I do not call them gangs. I actually call them mercenaries,” he said. “They are people working for others. It’s a war between different interests. And these are mercenaries, not gangs.”
Big fish netted, but ‘whales’ still free
While the latest round of sanctions may have caught some big fish, said Andre, “the whales still have to be taken.”
“Why are we not talking about (Gilbert) Bigio?” he asked. Haiti’s richest man owns and operates a private port that has been used to smuggle contraband, and he has been implicated by gang leaders. “Why not the Acra, why not the Vorbe?”
The men Andre claims pull the strings of both politicians and gangsters are the dozen or so elite families of Haiti’s oligarchy that once supported the Duvaliers and now have made new connections with the PHTK.
Andre said he hopes the sanctions announced this week will lead to swift action against properties like the house at Laval-sur-le-Lac.
“We simply say this is corruption, there’s illegality and we have to make sure that really is being seized and somehow, hopefully, returned to the country, to the population.”
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
