25 newsmakers that had Haitians talking in 2025  

Fabrice Rouzier — Copyright and tradition collide in lawsuit

Haitian music veteran Fabrice Rouzier shook the diaspora music world in April when he sued Franco-Haitian artist Joé Dwèt Filé, Nigerian famous person Burna Boy and comic Tonton Bicha. Rouzier, co-founder of Mizik Mizik and composer of the 2002 music Je Vais, alleged unauthorized sampling and efficiency of Je Vais in Joé Dwèt Filé’s 2024 world hit “4 Kampé.” Rouzier’s argument is that cultural homage doesn’t excuse unauthorized exploitation.

The lawsuit raised pressing questions on mental property, generational respect and the commercialization of tradition. Regardless of the go well with, the music’s success has been large: 4 Kampé and its sequel have topped 100 million streams, far surpassing the unique’s modest attain.

Melchie “Corventina” Dumornay — Earns second Girls’s Participant of the Yr award

At simply 22, Melchie Daëlle Dumornay, identified globally as “Corventina,” had already etched her title among the many greats along with her 2023 Girls’s World Cup efficiency. In 2025, she made historical past once more by successful CONCACAF Girls’s Participant of the Yr for the second consecutive 12 months, becoming a member of American legend Alex Morgan as the one ladies to realize that honor twice.

Dumornay’s 2025 was additionally named UEFA Girls’s Champions League Younger Participant of the Season for the second 12 months in a row, chosen to the Champions League Greatest XI — amongst an array of honors. As Haiti’s most seen and completed worldwide athlete, her rise displays not solely private excellence however the rising power of Haitian ladies’s soccer.

Hurricane Melissa — Tragedy sparks mourning and anger in Petit-Goâve

Hurricane Melissa killed a minimum of 25 folks in Haiti’s Petit-Goâve commune, together with 10 youngsters swept away by the overflowing La Digue River. A mass funeral on Nov. 15 drew tons of of grieving residents demanding motion. Native leaders blamed years of uncared for river upkeep and deforestation for worsening the catastrophe.

Regardless of widespread devastation, no provisional authorities officers attended the funeral, deepening public frustration. The storm highlighted Haiti’s excessive vulnerability amid local weather change, ongoing political instability and state collapse.

Boulos and Vorbe — Arrested as US targets Haiti’s elite for alleged ties to gangs

Two of Haiti’s strongest oligarchs — Reginald Boulos and Dimitri Vorbe — had been arrested within the U.S. in 2025, accused of supporting armed gangs and destabilizing Haiti. Each are being held by immigration authorities amid allegations of immigration fraud, corruption and legal conspiracy.

Reginald Boulos

Dimitri Vorbe

Boulos, who renounced his U.S. citizenship to run for president in Haiti, was detained in Miami for allegedly funding legal teams and concealing political ties on immigration kinds. Weeks later, Vorbe, whose household controls the non-public utility energy firm SOGENER, was additionally taken into custody in Florida.

Their arrests got here as Congress handed the Haiti Prison Collusion Transparency Act, mandating investigations and sanctions towards elites tied to gangs. The brand new regulation, signed into the 2026 U.S. protection invoice, displays a turning level in U.S. coverage towards Haiti’s entrenched energy gamers.

Sanctioned Haitian elites — Going through worldwide accountability reckoning

A number of Haitian political and enterprise leaders — together with unnamed figures within the present sanctions listing — confronted journey bans, asset freezes or immigration detentions in 2025 because of alleged gang ties, corruption and human rights abuses. Their rising authorized troubles underscore the shifting stability of impunity and accountability on the highest ranges of Haitian energy.

Erik Prince — Mercenary’s deal raises alarms over Haiti’s sovereignty

Erik Prince, a Trump ally and founding father of the disgraced non-public army agency Blackwater, emerged as some of the controversial figures tied to Haiti’s safety disaster. His firm, Vectus World, signed a long-term contract with Haiti’s transitional authorities to combat gangs, deploying overseas fighters, drones and helicopters in and round Port-au-Prince.

Reporting revealed that Prince’s community tried to recruit Haitian American army veterans as paid mercenaries—prompting sharp backlash from diaspora leaders and U.S. Military veterans like Rod Joseph, a congressional candidate in Florida.

Prince’s involvement revived painful recollections of Haiti’s historical past with mercenaries, particularly after Colombian contractors had been implicated within the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Whereas some residents say security issues greater than who offers it, critics warn the deal threatens nationwide sovereignty, transparency, and human rights.

Aland Etienne — Safety officer shot lifeless, was a civic image

Aland Etienne, a 46-year-old father of 4, was killed on July 28 whereas shielding others throughout a mass taking pictures at 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

His heroism impressed the Aland Etienne Security and Safety Act, handed by New York Metropolis Council in December. The regulation units minimal wage, advantages, and PTO requirements for town’s 81,000+ non-public safety officers—lots of whom are immigrants like Etienne and other people of coloration.

Etienne’s legacy now safeguards a complete workforce.

Thad Jean — The ‘Silverback’ who claimed the cage

In August, Thad “Silverback” Jean grew to become the 2025 PFL Welterweight World Champion, remaining undefeated at 11-0. However for Jean, a Broward County-born son of Haitian immigrants, the win was by no means nearly belts or cash.

It was about religion, satisfaction and visibility for Haiti. He speaks Creole fluently, has church-bred self-discipline, and carries the desires of a era into the MMA cage. His silverback nickname got here from a divine dream.

Haiti’s air journey — IBC Airways and Dawn assist refuel sector

With Haiti’s foremost airport in Port-au-Prince shut to U.S. airways because of gang violence, IBC Airways launched the primary direct industrial flights from Miami to Les Cayes’s Antoine Simon Airport in November 2025. The historic milestone offers Haiti’s long-isolated south a much-needed aerial hyperlink to the U.S. diaspora, paving the way in which for regional development.

In the meantime, Haitian-owned Dawn Airways continued working from Cap-Haïtien all through the hemisphere — regardless of challenges, together with plane harm and repair suspensions. Although criticized for top fares and delays, Dawn remained a significant connector whereas main carriers keep away.

Collectively, the 2 airways grew to become lifelines for Haitians throughout a interval of utmost insecurity and rising worldwide isolation.

Pras Michel — Sentenced to 14 years for overseas donations dealings

Fugees rapper Pras Michel was sentenced to 14 years in jail in November 2025 for illegally funneling tens of millions from Malaysian financier Jho Low into Barack Obama’s 2012 marketing campaign. Convicted on 10 counts — together with conspiracy, appearing as a overseas agent and witness tampering — Michel’s case featured testimony from Leonardo DiCaprio and sparked controversy over alleged trial misconduct.

Michel’s protection is interesting, citing bias, improper use of AI by his lawyer and prosecutorial overreach. His sentencing is among the many most extreme for political finance crimes in U.S. historical past.

Ben Mathurin and Lu Dort — Haitian satisfaction delivered to NBA Finals

Haitian Canadian NBA stars Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana Pacers) and Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder) made historical past within the 2025 NBA Finals, changing into the primary gamers of Haitian descent to face off on basketball’s largest stage.

Raised in Montreal by Haitian mother and father, each gamers credit score their tradition for shaping their identification, resilience and neighborhood ties. Their Finals showdown introduced world visibility to Haitian expertise and satisfaction.

Baptiste, Eugène & Dieujuste — Haitian vogue designers edit the worldwide model script

In 2025, Haitian creatives didn’t simply stroll the runway. They reshaped what it means to design from reminiscence, tradition and diaspora identification. From pink carpets to runways, three Haitian designers — Daveed Baptiste, Patrick Eugène, and Charles Dieujuste — turned recognition into revolution.

Daveed Baptiste: Topped the winner of the 2025 CFDA Empowered Imaginative and prescient Award, Baptiste introduced his signature fusion of excessive vogue and lakou reminiscence to the trade’s most elite stage. Raised in Miami’s Little Haiti and residing in Brooklyn, Baptiste facilities neighborhood over superstar, drawing from his immigrant childhood, artwork scene roots and experiences as a queer Haitian inventive.

Patrick Eugène: Atlanta-based Patrick Eugene, painter-turned-designer, made waves with a collaboration that shocked Paris: his assortment of three redesigned Dior Woman purses premiered at Artwork Basel Paris, a part of the long-lasting home’s tenth anniversary Dior Woman Artwork Undertaking.

Eugene’s designs, titled Pearl of the Antilles, reclaimed a colonial time period to honor Haiti’s historical past and class. His Dior assortment grew to become a world dialog piece, inserting Haitian aesthetics into the middle of vogue luxurious.

Charles Dieujuste: Within the New York’s garment district, Charles Dieujuste, founding father of Scorcesa, disrupted the bridal trade with nontraditional robes impressed by Haitian ladies, household reminiscence and daring cloth decisions.

A self-described romantic who’s “by no means been in a relationship,” Dieujuste designs for ladies who need their robes to mirror independence, coloration, and legacy—not conformity. His “Heritage” assortment, proven at each Style and Bridal Weeks, honors his grandmothers and neighborhood seamstresses in Haiti. With touches like Barbancourt bottles in his studio, Dieujuste retains his Caribbean roots seen in each sew.

Haitian migration — International locations curtail Haitian motion throughout borders

From the Western Hemisphere to farther afield, international locations started implementing stricter migration guidelines which have restricted the motion of Haitians searching for security and stability as Haiti falls additional into decline.

In North America, the U.S., Canada and Mexico launched new insurance policies affecting Short-term Protected Standing (TPS), humanitarian parole and household reunification applications, leaving many households scrambling.

Neighboring international locations such because the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos up to date visa necessities and eligibility for residency. France and its territories within the Caribbean additionally tightened entry necessities and started returning many Haitians.

Dominican Republic abuses — A 12 months of racialized violence and resistance

In 2025, a collection of tragedies uncovered but once more the systemic mistreatment of Haitians and Black Dominicans within the Dominican Republic:

• Stephora Joseph, an 11-year-old Haitian scholar, drowned on a faculty outing in Santiago amid gross negligence.
• Lourdia Jean-Pierre, a pregnant Haitian lady, died throughout a house start after avoiding a hospital for worry of deportation.
• A report from NYU’s World Justice Clinic particulars abuses below the DR’s 10,000-people-per-week deportation coverage, together with:
  • Racial profiling
  • Household separations
  • Focusing on of pregnant ladies
  • Detentions based mostly on pores and skin coloration and surname pronunciation

The incidents sparked protests, worldwide petitions and calls for for accountability—but in addition laid naked the human price of anti-Haitianism.

Gepsie Metellus — Road renamed in her honor

In recognition of her a long time of neighborhood management, the Metropolis of North Miami renamed NE 134th Road as “Gepsie M. Metellus Road.” Because the longtime government director of Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Middle, Metellus has been a tireless advocate for fairness, schooling and Haitian American empowerment.

The tribute got here as Sant La celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary and Metellus ready for retirement.

Chef Leen — Cooking up new information for Guinness and feeding diaspora satisfaction

Danaisa “Leen Wonderful” Orchestre, additionally identified on-line as Chef Leen, accomplished a record-breaking 192-hour cooking marathon in April, aiming to earn a Guinness World Information title for cooking whereas celebrating Haitian delicacies and tradition.

Initially from Guinaudée in Jean-Rabel, a commune in Haiti’s Northwest Division, Orchestre has turn out to be a logo of Haitian resilience and nationwide satisfaction. She cooked for a complete of eight days.

Melissa Sapinni — Haiti within the highlight in world pageantry

Melissa Sapinni made waves along with her participation within the Miss Universe 2025 pageant. She represented Haitian tradition in her shows, together with sporting a dressing up impressed by Haiti’s nationwide chook, the “Kanson Wouj” trogon discovered solely on the island of Hispaniola.