Critics say three deals totaling $137 million to build prisons, provide security and manage Haiti-DR border shift too much governmental powers to private firms abroad.
Overview:
A Haitian human rights group is raising alarm over three government contracts totaling at least $137 million drafted under Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé that critics say could cost the country billions in the long run and undermine national sovereignty. Civil society leaders say the contracts lack transparency and tie the country’s hands in deals that bypass parliamentary oversight.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — A Haitian human rights organization is raising alarm over a series of multi-million dollar government contracts signed under Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé that it says might end up costing the country billions of dollars, while transferring key sovereign powers to private foreign companies.
In a report published March 4, Fondasyon Je Klere (FJKL), Haitian Creole for “watchdog foundation,” described the three agreements as “onerous” and lacking transparency. The contracts totaling at least $137 million involve prison construction, police and security operations and border control and tax collections — sectors traditionally and legally managed by the government. According to FJKL, the deals could expose Haiti to hundreds of millions of dollars in short-term spending and potentially billions in long-term financial obligations.
“With three contracts signed with private and international firms, the government of Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has effectively undermined national sovereignty,” the organization said in its report.
“The motives of those who approved these onerous contracts must be investigated by anti-corruption authorities and the parliamentary committees of the next legislature,” the group added. “Spending tens of millions to generate billions in profit for a private company is an extraordinary windfall [for them].”
$85M prison project could cost Haiti billions, group says
FJKL says one of the most controversial agreements involves an $85.4 million project to build three prisons through a contract between the Haitian government and Metric Correctional Facility S.A. The deal is with Metric Management Inc., a company registered in Sunrise, Fla. owned by Raymond Roberty, and Trans Caribbean Energy Partners & Consulting S.A., registered in Panama, and is represented by Ricardo Cheaz, who resides in the Dominican Republic and is identified in the JKL report as a Chinese national.
Under the arrangement signed Dec. 15, according to FJKL, the 50-year contract calls for:
- Metric Correctional would finance 25% of the project.
- The remaining funds could come from loans backed by Haiti’s central bank at the request of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
- The Haitian government must pay the company for operating the facilities when completed, including guaranteeing at least 75% occupancy of the prisons.
Samuel Madistin, FJKL director and a prominent politician, said the payments could total more than $6 billion over the contract’s 50-year term. His math is based on a rate of $22 per inmate per day and a capacity of 15,000 detainees.
Critics say such provisions could create massive long-term financial liabilities for a country already facing severe economic constraints.
$52M security deal with Erik Prince mostly paid out
That contract began in March 2025 and is set to end at the end of this month –– when the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) is expected to be deployed. It began taking action with drone operations in 2025 that targeted gang-controlled areas.
So far, Haiti has already paid about $35.5 million to the firm within the first eight months of the agreement, according to the FJKL report. However, the organization says, the company has yet to deliver the results promised in the contract, which is supposedly scheduled to expire.
Haiti-DR border deal tied to customs revenue
The third agreement involves a 10-year border modernization project between the Haitian government and theEvergreen/Ense Group consortium. The firm is part of Evergreen System Limited, a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that has ties to Prince’s Vectus Global, according to the report. It is represented by Vincent Roy Gordon— identified only as an Australian in the FJKL report.
The contract’s stated goals are to improve customs monitoring, combat smuggling and increase government revenues. Under this deal:
- The Haitian government would pay $13.6 million upfront for equipment and operational costs — including drones, patrol boats, vehicles and surveillance systems.
- The consortium would receive 3% of the total value of imports recorded by customs within three months of the program’s launch.
- Evergreen/Ense would receive 20% of customs revenues collected above $458 million during the first three years, then 15% for the remaining seven years.
The FJKL argues that the revenue thresholds established in the contract could allow the private firm to earn more than $1 billion over a decade, even without significant improvements in tax collection.
Government mum on deals, fueling concerns
The Haitian Times has not yet independently verified details of the contracts referenced in the FJKL report, nor how many may have been signed or still in draft form. Numerous messages sent to government officials have gone unanswered and the Haitian government has not publicly announced any agreements, saying it must maintain confidentiality, and two major firms contacted have not returned messages as of Monday.
However, partial information from an array of sources appears to align with FJKL’s report as of this writing. The FJKL disclosures have also caused a stir in Haiti, prompting heated discussions across sectors about the country’s direction under Fils-Aimé. Incidentally, his current tenure came amid U.S. State Department orders to keep him on as prime minister, triggering accusations even then of foreign nations trampling on Haiti’s sovereignty.
Arguing that the contracts effectively outsource core government responsibilities to private companies and that they were devised during Haiti’s transitional government instead of ratified by a functioning parliament, critics say the deals raise major constitutional and economic concerns.
Civil society figures have also questioned why similar large-scale investment partnerships are not being pursued in critical life sectors such as health care. They highlight broader governance problems in Haiti’s transitional political system, where major policy decisions are often made without parliamentary oversight, and called for investigations into the agreements.
Velina Charlier, a political activist, questioned the rationale behind the prison contract on social media.
“Yes, we need prisons,” she wrote. “But is this contract truly in the country’s interest?”
On March 5, Ralph Emmanuel François, a disaster risk management and climate resilience specialist, criticized the fact that a transitional government can change prison policy without transparency.
François said in a post on X that Haitians would only learn about the commitments made on their behalf after 50 years. “Why did private companies not sign similar long-term deals to build hospitals or provide specialized doctors, but instead focused on constructing prisons?” he questioned.
For criminal law specialist Windy Phele, former Prime Minister Fils-Aimé must answer to justice, calling the situation unacceptable. “These three contracts are a complete waste [for Haiti],” Phele said.