U.S. says it can't keep ‘shouldering such a significant financial burden' in Haiti crisis

Miami Herald

21-04-2025

The Trump administration gave its strongest signal yet Monday on its thinking in regard to Haiti as the country spirals deeper into gang-fueled chaos and its capital stands on the precipice of being fully under gang control.
'America cannot continue shouldering such a significant financial burden,' said Dorothy Camille Shea, interim chargé d'affaires at the United States' mission at the United Nations.
Shea called on others in the international community to increase support for the response to Haiti's rapidly deteriorating situation, which is triggering one of the worst humanitarian crisis in the hemisphere at a moment when Washington is cutting back on foreign assistance. Her appeal and comments on where the United States stands after the previous administration pumped more than $600 million to support the U.N.-authorized Multinational Security Support mission, led by Kenya, comes amid growing uncertainty over the force's future and widespread agreement that Port-au-Prince is at imminent risk of being overtaken by criminal gangs.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres' special representative in Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, told the Security Council that the escalating armed attacks are affecting the few remaining areas in the capital not under gang control and sowing panic as new cities outside of the western region also fall to the gangs.
'Stepping up international support for Haiti is more critical than ever, particularly through increased funding and operational capacity for the Multinational Security Support Mission,' Salvador said.
'Haiti has reached a pivotal moment…. We are approaching a point of no return. As gang violence continues to spread to new areas of the country, Haitians experience growing levels of vulnerability and increasing skepticism about the ability of the state to respond to their needs,' she added. 'Without timely, decisive and concrete international assistance, the security situation in Haiti may not change….Haiti could face total chaos and any delay in your support could be a direct cause of such stark deterioration.'
Earlier this year, Guterres nixed deploying a formal U.N. peacekeeping mission to Haiti, saying there is no peace to keep in the current chaos. Instead, he endorsed maintaining the current Kenya mission with the U.N. picking up some of the costs but the funding still coming from voluntary contributions from foreign governments.
But during Monday's update on the situation in Haiti, diplomats acknowledged that nothing has happened despite the urgency of the situation and concerns about the escalating violence, which has led to growing hunger, more displacements and a staggering increase in sexual violence against women and girls.
In addition to the ongoing gang attacks, there are a number of critical expenses that need funding, sources tell the Miami Herald. They include the salaries of the roughly 1,000 menbers of the international force, and a $200 million payment to the contractor operating its base of operations. The contract was extended until September by the Biden administration, and operator must be notified months in advance if payment will be forthcoming for the next six months.
The time for condemnation is over, Denmark's representative, Christina Markus Lassen, said. 'Haiti is running out of time. Armed gangs continue to expand their arsenals and territory,' she said, echoing the calls of several other representatives for greater involvement.
What that involvement would look or how it would be funded remain in question. The voluntary contributions to the U.N. trust fund for the Kenya-led remains at $110 million, which the East African nation's national security minister, Monica Juma, made clear isn't enough.
'What the mission needs is to be fully deployed, quickly enabled; an urgent expansion... is therefore essential in order to deliver the intended impact and meet the legitimate high expectations of the Haitian people,' she said speaking by video to the room. 'In Kenya today, a total of 261 officers remain on standby for deployment, but are unable to get to theater because of a lack of equipment and logistic support.'
Nearly a year into its deployment, the force remains at less than 40% at its stated goal of 2,500 security personnel, Juma said.
The most stinging repute came from China, which accused the U.S of abandoning Haiti at a dire moment after helping set up its ruling transitional presidential council, now mired in controversy and credibility issues.
'The U.S. has always been the de facto leader on security matters in Haiti,' China's deputy representative, Geng Shuang, said, highlighting the current administration's minimal contribution to the mission since coming into office in January and its recent imposition of a 10% tariff on Haiti, 'a nation on the edge of collapse.'
Critics have noted that China, which is a significant financial contributor to the U.N., doesn't want to pay for a peacekeeping mission. Along with Russia, another vocal critic of the U.S., Beijing has not contributed to the trust fund for the mission.
Geng said Washington is trying to pass the buck on Haiti, using 'member states as little more than an ATM machine.'
'The U.S is a major source of interference in Haiti's development,' Beijing's ambassador said. 'While it claims to support the Haitian people, it has significantly cut foreign aid and continue deporting Haitian immigrants on the national priorities precisely when Haiti is in dire need of support,'