Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced on Monday that the United States will provide an additional $100 million in aid towards a United Nations-backed multinational security mission planned to deploy to Haiti, which has been plagued by gang violence.
He also committed to an extra $33 million in humanitarian aid, bringing the total U.S. commitments to $333 million.
“We can assist in restoring a foundation of security,” Mr. Blinken stated during a meeting of regional leaders held in Kingston, Jamaica. “Only the Haitian people can and should determine their own future, not anyone else.”
The promise of further U.S. aid was the highlight of a meeting that appeared to make little progress towards a political resolution as unrest in Haiti’s capital has escalated in the past two weeks.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry of Haiti traveled to Kenya in early March to finalize an agreement for the multinational force, led by the East African nation, to deploy and combat the gangs. Since then, Mr. Henry has been stranded outside his country while gang members wreak havoc and demand his resignation.
Despite mounting pressure both domestically and internationally for him to step down, the prime minister has so far refused to resign. Mr. Henry, who has been staying in Puerto Rico, did not attend Monday’s meeting, and it was unclear if he participated remotely in the discussion.
Leaders from Caribbean nations are spearheading an effort to establish a transitional council, aimed at facilitating the election of a new president and restoring stability to Haiti.
Jamaican officials revealed that a proposal for Haiti was still being developed, and discussions were ongoing, but no plan had been finalized as of Monday.
With the government on the brink of collapse, the United States and Caribbean nations are collaborating to devise a solution that would bring some order to the troubled nation.
Mr. Blinken announced that the Department of Defense would double its approved support for the mission from $100 million to $200 million, bringing total U.S. support to $300 million. He also disclosed an additional $33 million in humanitarian assistance to bolster health and food security.
After several delays, Haiti and Kenya signed an agreement this month to proceed with the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to the Caribbean nation. President William Ruto of Kenya emphasized his country’s “historic duty” to move forward because “peace in Haiti is beneficial for the world as a whole.”
Kenya’s interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, announced on Monday that the mission was in the “predeployment stage” and all other programs and enforcement measures related to the deployment were already in place.
However, there is currently no clear timeline for when the multinational force will be deployed.
“We are deeply concerned that it is already too late for too many who have suffered greatly at the hands of criminal gangs,” stated Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica. “The fear of the situation in Haiti deteriorating into a civil war is now a real one. We all agree that this cannot be allowed to happen, not in our hemisphere.”
Haiti is experiencing a level of unrest not seen in decades. The escalation of violence, attacks on police stations by gangs, and coordinated assaults on two prisons have left Haitians grappling with a humanitarian crisis as access to food, water, and healthcare has been severely restricted.
Over the weekend, U.S. forces evacuated nonessential U.S. embassy staff from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince and increased security personnel, as per a statement from the Defense Department’s Southern Command. The statement clarified that no Haitians were part of the airlift.
