Conflicts
Haiti crisis: USA pledges another $100 million
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the situation in Haiti with Caribbean government leaders in Jamaica’s capital Kingston. photo
© Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP Pool via AP/dpa
Powerful gangs want to overthrow the interim government in Haiti. Their violence prevents the head of government from returning. The German ambassador and other diplomats have left the crisis country.
The USA has its financial commitment for a multinational security mission in the crisis state Haiti increased by 100 million to 300 million dollars (around 274 million euros). US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced this at a meeting of Caribbean heads of government who discussed a way out of the dramatic situation in Haiti.
Blinken also pledged $33 million in humanitarian aid to Haiti. At the meeting in Jamaica’s capital Kingston, which was also attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a proposal was discussed to set up an interim presidential council to resolve the political crisis.
The UN Security Council had already approved the mission to support the Haitian police in the fight against criminal gangs in October. Kenya plans to send 1,000 police officers to lead the mission; However, a court in the East African country ruled that the plan was unconstitutional. According to a UN spokesman on Monday, only $10.8 million has been raised so far to finance the mission. The US Congress has so far not released most of the promised funds.
Gangs demand Prime Minister’s resignation
The violence of the brutal gangs, which, according to the UN, already control around 80 percent of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, has escalated since the end of February. The two most powerful gangs joined forces and demanded the resignation of interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry. He was on a trip abroad and has not returned since. Henry has been in power since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021. There have been no elections since then.
Bandits attacked police stations and airports, among other places, and freed more than 4,500 inmates from prisons. The German ambassador and diplomats from the EU and the USA left Haiti at the weekend.
The violence also exacerbated an already precarious humanitarian situation. According to UN figures, almost half of the Caribbean country’s approximately eleven million inhabitants suffer from acute hunger. According to the UN, around 362,000 Haitians are displaced within the country, more than half of them children.
Blinken called the situation untenable for the people of Haiti. Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said there were fears that a civil war could break out in Haiti.