In Haiti, Trump's assault on foreign aid is ‘a gift to the gangs'

Boston Globe

17-02-2025

A federal judge late Thursday ordered the government to temporarily lift the freeze on some congressionally appropriated aid. But it is unclear if and when payments will resume, and the fate of many programs in Haiti remains uncertain. The Konbit Sante clinic, for instance, remains closed.
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The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in the Dominican Republic this month that 'the solution for Haiti is in the hands of the Haitian people' but the United States 'cannot ignore the problems there' and would help.
Already, the freeze has had profound consequences that won't easily be reversed, USAID officials and aid workers said in interviews that took place before the judge's order.
Clinics for victims of rape by the gangs have let staff go. At the height of the planting season, seeds have been locked up. With half the country suffering acute food insecurity, malnutrition prevention programs are paused.
The heavily armed, well-connected gangs control up to 85 percent of Port-au-Prince, the capital, and block aid deliveries. About $13 million for a poorly funded, UN-backed, Kenya-led police mission to counter them has been in limbo.
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The history of US aid in Haiti is complicated, and few involved in its provision dispute a need for reform. But even the critics who say Haiti shows how foreign aid can go wrong say Trump's broad assault on the system will do more harm. Analysts argue it could also undercut US interests, strengthening armed groups, deepening poverty, and fueling the migration the administration wants to stem.
'It really is a gift to the gangs,' said an aid worker who oversees projects in Haiti. The worker, like others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by their organizations to speak publicly or feared retribution.
'I don't know that that's good for US or North American interests,' the worker said. 'But I can only see them as the main winners in this and I'm sure they're thrilled.'
More than 5,600 people in Haiti were killed last year by gang members, vigilantes, or the police, the UN office in Port-au-Prince reported this month. Several of the deadliest massacres have occurred since October, and gangs have routinely attacked health care facilities.
They have filled a power vacuum left by a leaderless government. The presidency has been vacant since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse; the National Assembly has been empty since the last lawmakers' terms expired at the start of 2023. In their place is an unelected interim council and an appointed prime minister, the country's third in a year.
Haitian officials have said they intend to hold general elections in November, but it's unclear that security conditions will have improved enough by then. The aid freeze paused US technical assistance for the panel organizing the vote, a person familiar with the matter said.
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In Washington, foreign aid, which makes up about 1 percent of the federal budget, has traditionally drawn bipartisan support as a bulwark against Russian and Chinese influence and an important form of soft power.
In Haiti, it's complicated. Some in the country view the programs as a necessary lifeline. Others say American assistance is a form of economic colonialism that has often benefited US contractors and international organizations at the expense of Haitian groups more closely connected to the reality on the ground, has accomplished too little, and has enfeebled state institutions, effectively trapping the country in a cycle of dependency.
The cataclysmal Port-au-Prince earthquake in 2010 drew billions of dollars in foreign aid and pledges to finally set Haiti on a path toward progress. The US Government Accountability Office found that USAID projects had 'mixed' results and that many experienced delays, due in part to understaffing and 'unrealistic' plans.
USAID sent tens of thousands of tons of US rice to the country. But the program benefited American farmers over Haitian farmers who were already struggling because US rice subsidies had undercut local production.
But analysts say Trump's assault on the foreign aid apparatus, including shutting off the spigots overnight, will have devastating results. They say his plan to support only those projects that align with his 'America First' agenda will preserve the most harmful elements of the system.
'The biggest reason aid is ineffective is because it is designed to support US interests and not the interests in these countries,' said Jake Johnston, author of 'Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti.' 'The changes that we're seeing from the administration is making USAID more overtly political … and is doubling down on all the worst parts of aid.'
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A USAID employee called the administration's moves 'a blow' to the bilateral relationship.
'There are critics who have every right to be critical of US policy in Haiti,' the employee said. 'But I think when it comes down to it, most people would agree that US assistance … has been and is necessary.'
The Zanmi Lasante health clinic, which supports some of the 140,000 people in Haiti with HIV, continued to provide HIV treatment, but social support programs were paused. Wesler Lambert, its executive director, said US agencies fund 90 percent of HIV programs in Haiti, so any long-term gutting of assistance could undo years of progress against the virus.
'I would not say that the billions of dollars have not helped Haiti,' Lambert said. 'There's a lot of work to do, but it has helped. It has saved lives in the health field.'