Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the need for a multinational force to assist Haiti’s National Police in restoring order. This echoes recent appeals from United Nations officials who have warned about the worsening insecurity in the country. Blinken addressed the situation in Haiti during his one-day visit to Trinidad and Tobago, where he attended a three-day conference organized by the Caribbean trade bloc known as Caricom. Leaders from the Caribbean have been regularly discussing the Haiti crisis. Caricom Chairman and Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, expressed support for Haitian-led solutions while appealing for assistance from the United States.
“It is no secret, Mr. Secretary, that the United States will have to play a crucial role,” said Skerrit as he introduced Blinken on the final day of the conference. Blinken’s remarks came a day before the scheduled meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss Haiti, as pressure mounts on the international community to deploy a foreign armed force, as requested by Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry in October. So far, the Security Council has only approved sanctions on gang members and high-profile individuals believed to be supporting the gangs that now control approximately 80% of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, where incidents of violence, including killings, rapes, and kidnappings, have drastically increased.
Blinken expressed his support for the deployment of a multinational force to restore security, stating, “This is an area of intense focus for us.” He also pledged to continue advocating for financial institutions to defer debt payments in the event of natural disasters, as the Caribbean has been severely affected by increasingly strong storms. Furthermore, Blinken committed to providing nearly $5.5 billion to support small farmers in increasing productivity and accessing technology to combat climate change in the region. Haiti’s National Police is currently underfunded and lacks resources to combat the surge in violence, with only approximately 13,000 active-duty officers serving a population of over 11 million. Some Haitians, exhausted and fed up with the violence, have resorted to a violent uprising targeting suspected gang members.
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