The following day, Laurent Salvador Lamothe made public a declaration of his initial reaction, which we reproduce in full for the benefit of our readers, following the announcement made by Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State, on Friday, June 2, 2023, of the appointment of the former prime minister and minister of planning and external cooperation, Laurent Salvador Lamothe, for his Significant Involvement in Corruptions, prohibiting him from entering the United States.
“On June 3, 2023, Laurent S. Lamothe, former prime minister of Haiti, vehemently opposes the recent designation of the United States Department of State concerning him for “involvement in substantial corruption,”‘ he said in a statement.
“Sadly, the choice made by Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken was supported by recycled rumors from when Mr. Lamothe served as Prime Minister from 2012 to 2014. In reality, the Department of State noted that no “specific disappearance of funds” had been noted in a report on PetroCaribe in its November 2022 report to the U.S. Congress (in accordance with Section 107 of the Haiti Institutional Development, Accountability and Transparency Initiative Act).
According to the same article, the additional sanction that the Secretary of State has placed on Mr. Lamothe mainly aims to appease some of his longtime political rivals in Haiti. These same adversaries used destabilizing tactics to undercut Mr. Lamothe’s ability to lead the country while provoking unrest and violent protests. After Mr. Lamothe left his position as prime minister, their fervent determination to murder his reputation persisted. Instead, it intensified and reached a climax in a dubious and politically motivated study on PetroCaribe that the US State Department foolishly used to criticize Mr. Lamothe.
Five independent audits of Mr. Lamothe’s financial management conducted over the course of the last nine years by the Venezuelan government (PDV CARIBE), the AntiCorruption Unit (ULCC), and Haiti’s Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes (CSCCA) found no evidence of wrongdoing on his behalf. Since his college days, Mr. Lamothe has been a model citizen of Miami, boosting the regional economy by starting businesses and creating jobs. His two daughters also live in South Florida. After the 2010 earthquake, Mr. Lamothe returned to Haiti in 2011, but only to work for the government of his native country. This causes a parent to be separated from his family and keeps him from sharing in his teenage daughters’ life-changing experiences.
Mr. Lamothe is committed to using all legal means at his disposal to contest the Department of State’s designation in order to reclaim his family, his honor, and his commitment to the truth.
From Laurent Lamothe