Joseph Lambert (born 5 February 1961 in

Jacmel Jacmel (; ht, Jakmèl) is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsula ...

) is a Haitian politician who is the president of the

Haitian Senate The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of Haiti's bicameral legislature, the Haitian Parliament. The lower house of the Haitian Parliament is the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate consists of thirty seats, with three members from each of ...

, which currently comprises only 10 of its usual 30 senators. Lambert has been the president of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 2006, 2018–2019 and since January 2021. He was sanctioned by the Canadian and U.S. authorities for his involvement in the global illicit drug trade, corruption, and gross violations of human rights November 4, 2022. His claim to the presidency following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse was disputed, due to a lack of constitutional guidance and the fact that only ten elected senators remained in the legislative body. Acting Prime Minister

Claude Joseph Claude Joseph () is a Haitian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship from 4 March 2020 to 24 November 2021, and served as acting Prime Minister of Haiti from 14 April 2021 to 20 July 2021, and acting President of Hai ...

has also claimed to take charge of Haiti following the presidential vacancy in 2021. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

meanwhile recognized Joseph as the legitimate acting President. On 9 July, a group of eight senators of Haiti nominated Lambert to replace assassinated

Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse (; ; 26 June 1968 – 7 July 2021) was a Haitian entrepreneur and politician, who served as the 43rd President of Haiti from 2017 until his assassination in 2021. He was sworn in as president in February 2017 after winning the ...

as president, but this move was not been recognized by the acting prime minister Claude Joseph. Lambert was set to be sworn-in as President of Haiti on 10 July, but he stated that it had been postponed by the senators, so that all of them could be present during the ceremony. However, he later revealed to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that he had been made to abandon the swearing-in because of pressure from the United States, which had decided to recognize

Ariel Henry Ariel Henry (; born 6 November 1949) is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who has served as the acting prime minister of Haiti and the acting president of Haiti since 20 July 2021. He later became involved in a controversy due to his refusa ...

as the interim Prime Minister and urged him to not declare himself as the President. After Henry started coming under scrutiny for his alleged involvement in Moïse's murder, Lambert again claimed to be Haiti's President and tried to have himself sworn-in at the Parliament building on 14 September 2021. A gunfight however broke out and Lambert was unable to enter. He was also warned against the move by diplomats of other countries.

U.S. and Canadian Government Actions Against Lambert

Lambert was sanctioned by the

U.S. Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and th ...

on November 4, 2022, pursuant to Executive Order 14059 of December 15, 2021, “Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade.” The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Lambert for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production. In Concert with that action, Secretary of State Blinken designated Lambert — under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022 — for his involvement in significant corruption and a gross violation of human rights. Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Mélanie Joly Mélanie Joly (born January 16, 1979) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada), Minister of Foreign Affairs since October 2021. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Party, Joly repr ...

, announced coordinated sanctions against Lambert under the ''Special Economic Measures (Haiti) Regulations'' on November 4, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Joseph 1961 births Haitian politicians Living people People from Jacmel People from Sud-Est (department) Presidents of the Senate (Haiti)