U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday in Kingston, Jamaica that the United States would contribute an additional US$100 million to a United Nations-backed multinational security force intended to help Haitian police fight gangs and US$33 million in humanitarian aid.
Reuters said that the commitment brings the proposed U.S. contribution to the force to US$300 million, though it was unclear how long it will take this funding to be approved by lawmakers and transferred.
As of yesterday, less than US$11 million had been deposited into the U.N.’s dedicated trust fund, a spokesperson for the world body said, with no new additions since March 3 when Haiti declared a state of emergency due to the worsening violence from gangs seeking to topple the government, Reuters said.
“We all know that urgent action is needed on both the political and security tracks,” said Blinken while on a hastily arranged visit to Jamaica, adding that Haiti faces an “untenable situation.”
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the mission represented a “critical and necessary first step”, saying the threat of civil war was “now a real one; we all agree this cannot be allowed to happen”, Reuters reported.
U.S. officials have been engaged in talks involving Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states and members of Haiti’s political parties, private sector, civil society and religious groups aimed at establishing a transitional council that would pave the way to the first elections since 2016.
Haiti declared a state of emergency early this month as clashes damaged communications and led to two prison breaks after Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, a leader of an alliance of armed groups, said they would unite and overthrow Haiti’s unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Henry, who came to power after the 2021 assassination of Haiti’s last president but is stranded outside of the country, was in virtual discussions with CARICOM yesterday, a State Department official said, according to Reuters. His political allies also were taking part in the in-person talks in the Jamaican capital Kingston, the official said.
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said Haitian stakeholders had largely agreed that a presidential council should be urgently installed to identify a prime minister, who would together with the council establish a government, Reuters reported.
A provisional electoral council should also be established excluding those who would be involved in future elections, Mottley added at a news conference.
Mexico’s foreign minister Alicia Barcena said her country had also contributed to the shared Haiti security fund, without saying how much, and urged more progress on stemming firearms trafficking throughout the region, according to Reuters.
The U.N. believes Haitian gangs have gathered large arsenals of weapons trafficked largely from the United States.
The United Nations estimates over 362,000 people have been internally displaced, half of whom are children, and thousands have been killed in the overall conflict in Haiti, with widespread reports of rape, torture and ransom kidnappings since 2021.
‘A bloody revolution’
Back in Haiti, gang leader Cherizier threatened to go after hotel owners hiding politicians or collaborating with Henry, Reuters said. He demanded the country’s next leader be chosen by the people and live in Haiti, alongside their families.
Many influential Haitian political figures live abroad.
“If (Henry) continues down this path, he will plunge Haiti into chaos,” Cherizier said. “We’re not in a peaceful revolution. We are making a bloody revolution in the country because this system is an apartheid system, a wicked system.”
At yesterday’s press conference, CARICOM Chairman and President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali emphasized the need for unity and strategic planning to address the crisis in Haiti. He thanked the CARICOM Eminent Persons Group for their support and acknowledged the critical talks led by Prime Minister Mottley.
Other international partners, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Haiti. Canada pledged continued financial and humanitarian support, while Mexico emphasized the importance of addressing root causes of instability, such as poverty and violence.
“We are committed to continue working closely to strengthen security in Haiti and also to put concrete resources into the cooperation efforts to safeguard our efforts for Haiti’s stability. It is imperative to work together to fight firearms trafficking. We believe that this is at the core of the problem we are facing today. Because we have to address the disproportionate capabilities of organized crime and represent the risk not only for Haiti but for the entire continent. And with the US we have been working together on how to control these arms trafficking through our borders,” Bárcena noted.
While pointing out that lending support to Haiti means strengthening regional stability, the Mexican Foreign Minister noted that the consequences of the unfortunate current situation have important implications, such as irregular migration, and human trafficking.
“We have provided refugee for more than 43,000 Haitians in Mexico, and we will continue to support them in finding formal jobs and full integration in our support in our societies. But we need to make sure that migration is an option and not an obligation for the Haitians. And we will continue working very hard on this,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, French Minister of State for Development, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, highlighted France’s support for the Haitian people and condemned the attacks by criminal armed groups. She called for intensified inter-Haitian dialogue to reach a consensus on a political solution.
During the press conference, Ali noted that other foreign delegates from such places as Kenya and Benin had wanted to have their say in the Haiti situation. However, technical difficulties disallowed this from happening. The press conference was initially slated to commence around 1 pm but began after 6 pm and the transmission was cut half an hour later, during the French Minister’s presentation.
On March 3, Haiti’s government declared a state of emergency following violent clashes in the capital, leading to a curfew being imposed in the western territory. At the time Cherizier sought to oust Prime Minister Henry, resulting in prison breaks and attacks on the country’s largest prison.
Residents in the capital saw heavy gunfire over the weekend as armed men downtown surrounded the National Palace on Friday night and by Sunday the U.S. airlifted staff from its embassy. On Monday, authorities extended a nightly curfew until Thursday.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Washington was looking to expedite the deployment of the planned security mission, which Kenya was offered to lead.
Haiti first requested an international security force in 2022, but countries have been slow to offer support, with some raising doubts over the legitimacy of Henry’s unelected government amid widespread protests.
Many in Haitian communities and abroad are wary of international interventions after previous U.N. missions left behind a devastating cholera epidemic and sex abuse scandals, for which reparations were never made.
Mike Ballard, intelligence director at security firm Global Guardian, said if gangs completely take control of ports and airports, they would be in charge of humanitarian aid to the country, adding he did not believe Kenyan forces would effectively police or maintain peace.
“Countries with actual stakes in the region will need to step up and help shore up security,” he said, pointing to the United States, neighboring Dominican Republic and other CARICOM members.
