Latest news with #HaitianNationalPolice
Business Insider
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
With home security under strain, Kenya rallies Brazil's support for Haiti deployment
Kenya's government has requested Brazil's expertise and funding to enhance efforts in restoring peace and rebuilding broken communities in Haiti. Kenya has sought Brazil's expertise and funding for restoring peace and rebuilding communities in Haiti. Kenya leads the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission, deploying 800 officers with plans for additional contributions. Despite judicial objections in Kenya, Parliament approved the deployment of police to Haiti, raising domestic and international concerns. Kenya Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, made the request during a recent visit to Brazil, emphasizing the need for international cooperation to address the crisis in Haiti. During his visit, Mudavadi urged the international community, particularly the United Nations and the United States, and other members of the American continent to fulfill and augment their pledged funding for the UN-backed security mission in Haiti. The mission, now in its second year, has received support from the US and the UN, but faced significant funding constraints. Mudavadi held talks with Brazil's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Mauro Vieira, on the sidelines of the 5th Kenya-Brazil summit. The two leaders discussed opportunities for enhanced cooperation in areas such as agriculture, trade, and security. Mudavadi also met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who reaffirmed the United States' support for Kenya's leadership in the Haiti MSS. ' We reaffirmed our commitment to deepening bilateral ties with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on tourism. Our discussions explored opportunities for enhanced cooperation in agriculture, trade, investment, health, climate resilience, and security, alongside shared priorities on the multilateral stage', Mudavadi said. Funding Challenges and Concerns Kenya is leading the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti, which includes contributions from countries like Jamaica, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Benin, and Chad. Over 800 Kenyan officers have been deployed to restore law and order, combat gang violence, and support the Haitian National Police. In 2023, a Nairobi High Court issued an injunction halting Kenya's planned deployment of police to Haiti, following a petition by opposition leader and constitutional lawyer Ekuru Aukot. He argued the mission lacked legal basis and criticized the move as reckless, given Kenya's own domestic security challenges. Rights groups also warned that Kenyan police, accused of using excessive force at home, could pose a risk in Haiti—where past foreign interventions have led to abuses. Despite the court order, Parliament later approved the deployment, sparking further controversy over the government's defiance of judicial authority. The mission is faced with a significant funding crisis, with only $85 million pledged out of a target $600 million annual budget. Additionally, there are concerns over logistics, personnel shortages, and human rights violations. Kenya is yet to deploy its full contingent of 1,000 police officers. Future of the Mission The United States has proposed replacing the Kenya-led mission with a UN-led peacekeeping operation due to funding concerns. However, some argue that the UN should strengthen the current mission instead of replacing it. Mudavadi's appeal to Brazil for support aims to bolster efforts in restoring peace and rebuilding Haitian communities. Strengthening Bilateral Ties During his visit, Mudavadi and Brazilian officials signed a Memorandum of Understanding on tourism, deepening bilateral ties between the two countries. The talks explored opportunities for enhanced cooperation in various areas, including agriculture, trade, investment, health, and climate resilience. The Kenya-led MSS Mission in Haiti remains a crucial effort to restore stability and security in the country. With international support and cooperation, the mission can continue to make progress in rebuilding Haitian communities and promoting peace.
Boston Globe
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Haiti turns to weaponized drones in fight against gangs
Advertisement 'If the intention is to create the illusion that the situation is under control, this is quite the opposite,' said Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, a Haiti analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. 'This is a very, very dangerous escalation.' A humanitarian worker in Port-au-Prince said aid groups are figuring out how to adapt. 'We work in places where thousands of people are present,' said the aid worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. 'This situation is clearly dangerous for civilians, especially if something were to detonate during a distribution.' Since drones were first deployed in early March, they have not killed any gang leaders. But they have injured at least nine civilians, including women and children, according to a health care worker who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals by Haitian officials. Two had such severe burns that they were transferred to specialized facilities for treatment. Advertisement Little is known about the drones. Haitians say they see them and hear the explosions. Gang leaders post videos of them in their territory and the injuries they say they have sustained from them. They appear to be commercial drones that were weaponized with improvised munitions, analysts say. It's also unclear who is in charge of the drone operations. Neither Haiti's interim government nor its police have publicly claimed responsibility for them. But a Haitian government official said the unit is run by a task force created this year by interim prime minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé and the transitional presidential council. 'They have no transparency,' said Nathalye Cotrino, a senior researcher for the Americas at Human Rights Watch, 'and we haven't seen any accountability.' The Haitian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive security issue, defended the drone operations. Haiti, he said, is 'at war.' The drones have killed 'many' gang members, though he did not have a number, and without them, he said, the gangs would have taken over the affluent neighborhood of Pétion-Ville. The drones are being used to target gang strongholds that civilians have already fled, he added. But when asked about the civilian casualties - which have not been previously reported - he said they would not be a 'surprise.' 'Let's be honest - it's inevitable,' the official said, adding, 'To me, it's just a detail. As long as you're in a zone controlled by gangs and there are attacks, collateral damage is going to happen.' Advertisement The official said the task force responsible for the drones includes specialized police units. But Haitian National Police spokesman Lionel Lazarre said police use drones for surveillance and referred questions about weaponized drones to the government. Godfrey Otunge, the commander of a UN-backed, Kenya-led international police mission to Haiti, said that the force does not use weaponized drones and that Haiti's transitional government is in charge. Neither the secretary of state for public security nor a spokesman for Haiti's transitional presidential council responded to requests for comment. Canada and the United States, which have provided equipment for the Haitian police, said their support has not included lethal drones or logistical support or training for their use. A spokesman for Canada's Foreign Ministry said that 'to our knowledge, neither the Haitian National Police nor the Haitian military forces were involved in the new Haitian task force's drone attacks.' Analysts worry that Haiti's gangs could now be spurred to add weaponized drones to their arsenals. 'Be careful,' Jimmy 'Barbecue' Chérizier, one of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders, warned authorities in a video after a drone attack failed to kill him last month. 'The world sells everything. I can buy what you bought.'
Miami Herald
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
An ‘America First' plan to prevent Haiti's collapse
From President Donald Trump's attention to the Middle East, the Panama Canal, the Russia-Ukraine war, plus U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's travel throughout the Americas, this administration clearly understands that U.S. interests — including border security — depend on what happens in our backyard. That is why the administration must act quickly to break from former President Joe Biden's failed approach to Haiti and prevent a dangerous collapse unfolding just 700 miles from South Florida's coast. Haiti is no longer just an unfortunate humanitarian crisis — it is a rapidly escalating regional security threat. In just the last few weeks, Kenya's security forces have suffered their first casualties. Gangs have seized armored troop carriers from Haitian police. Significant ground has been lost in and around the capital Port-au-Prince and gangs have opened fire on helicopters over the city. Mirebalais — once a peaceful mountain refuge for families fleeing violence in Haiti — is now slipping under gang rule as well. Roads have been overtaken, kidnappings and extortion are surging, and the tactics used to cripple Port-au-Prince are expanding into new territory. The country is unraveling at breakneck speed. Calculated efforts by the Haitian National Police, including drone strikes and tactical offensives, have proven largely fruitless. The gangs remain emboldened. The state is losing its grip. Violence is escalating. This is not some noble ideological uprising. These gangs are foreign-funded, criminally trained and driven by profit. They are not philosophers or revolutionaries — they are narco-terrorists whose goal is to turn Haiti into a trafficking hub sending narcotics into the U.S. Dimitri Herard, a former police official linked to the assassination in 2021 of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse, is now positioning himself as a nationalist leader. But Herard is no freedom fighter— he's one of the architects behind the arming and training of these networks of gangs. His ambition is clear: convert gang violence into political power. Herard and other gang leaders have allegedly raped, murdered and extorted their way to personal dominance — and they've ignited a full-fledged fire just a stone's throw from U.S. shores. The Biden-Harris approach to Haiti — defined by disengagement — utterly failed. On the current path, murders and kidnappings will rise. Gang territory will expand. Phony elections will be staged. Foreign actors — particularly China — will invest in infrastructure and resources, turning Haiti into a narco-state governed by proxies and beholden to adversarial interests. America's national security and borders will bear the consequences. The last thing Haiti needs is another failed aid campaign or American boots on the ground. What Haiti needs is U.S. support for credible Haitian and Haitian-American partners to prepare to fight for their country's freedom. These include trusted private-sector leaders, former law enforcement officials and military veterans with the experience and local relationships to reclaim ground, secure infrastructure, and restore order. It is no longer a question of if Haiti falls — but when and how deep the collapse will be. Swift action now to contain the fallout will pay significant America First dividends down the road. More than one million Haitians are already internally displaced. Likely twice that number have fled. Tens of thousands more are seeking refuge across borders — many illegally. Imagine the consequence of complete government collapse in Haiti. I believe Haiti will become a trafficking superhighway into the U.S., a nearby narco-state aligned with foreign adversaries and a humanitarian catastrophe that destabilizes the region, overwhelms our neighbors and triggers another refugee crisis at our border. This scenario is not hypothetical. It's already happening. The window to act is closing. But there is still time. With urgency, clarity and resolve, the administration can empower brave Haitians to reclaim their nation, prevent total collapse and protect the American people from becoming collateral damage. Austin Holmes, a Florida native and former Haitian resident, has experience directing high-stakes humanitarian efforts, crisis management operations and disaster response efforts in Haiti and the Caribbean. He coordinated relief efforts for over 750,000 Haitians after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kenyan officer reported missing in Haiti after gang ambush, as Rubio visits Caribbean to discuss Haitian security crisis
A member of the international force battling gangs in Haiti has been reported missing, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio launches a tour of the Caribbean with Haiti's security crisis high on the agenda. The Kenyan police officer disappeared after suspected gang members ambushed two mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles on Tuesday in the town of Pont-Sondé, Artibonite region, according to a statement by the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS). Forces from the MSS and the Haitian National Police are now carrying out a search and rescue operation to locate the missing officer, Kenya's National Police Service said. The ambushed vehicles had been dispatched to recover an armored police vehicle that got stuck in a ditch – which MSS said may have been deliberately dug by gangs. During the recovery operation, one of the MRAP vehicles also got stuck and the other developed mechanical issues. As officers attempted to fix the issue, they were suddenly attacked by gang members, the MSS said in a statement. 'As a result of the incident, one MSS Kenyan contingent officer remains unaccounted for,' MSS said. After the attack, videos were shared online purporting to show the officer's body lying on the ground. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the footage, and has reached out to MSS for more information. If confirmed, it would mark the latest Kenyan casualty since the security mission arrived in June. Last month, a Kenyan member of MSS was fatally wounded in an operation also in the Artibonite region, MSS said. The US has been a key financial supporter of MSS, and the security crisis in Haiti is a focus of Secretary Rubio's visit to the Caribbean this week. On Wednesday, Rubio is scheduled to meet with the president of Haiti's Presidential Transitional Council Fritz Jean in Jamaica. The Haitian government said the meeting is meant to strengthen regional cooperation related to its challenges. Over 80% of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince has been estimated to be under gang control. Since the MSS arrived, gangs have spread increasingly into rural areas, seizing swathes of territory in the agriculturally critical Artibonite region. In October, the UN said least 70 people, including women and children, were massacred by the Gran Grif gang in the same Artibonite town where the officer disappeared on Tuesday.
CNN
26-03-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Kenyan officer reported missing in Haiti after gang ambush, as Rubio visits Caribbean to discuss Haitian security crisis
A member of the international force battling gangs in Haiti has been reported missing, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio launches a tour of the Caribbean with Haiti's security crisis high on the agenda. The Kenyan police officer disappeared after suspected gang members ambushed two mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles on Tuesday in the town of Pont-Sondé, Artibonite region, according to a statement by the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS). Forces from the MSS and the Haitian National Police are now carrying out a search and rescue operation to locate the missing officer, Kenya's National Police Service said. The ambushed vehicles had been dispatched to recover an armored police vehicle that got stuck in a ditch – which MSS said may have been deliberately dug by gangs. During the recovery operation, one of the MRAP vehicles also got stuck and the other developed mechanical issues. As officers attempted to fix the issue, they were suddenly attacked by gang members, the MSS said in a statement. 'As a result of the incident, one MSS Kenyan contingent officer remains unaccounted for,' MSS said. After the attack, videos were shared online purporting to show the officer's body lying on the ground. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the footage, and has reached out to MSS for more information. If confirmed, it would mark the latest Kenyan casualty since the security mission arrived in June. Last month, a Kenyan member of MSS was fatally wounded in an operation also in the Artibonite region, MSS said. The US has been a key financial supporter of MSS, and the security crisis in Haiti is a focus of Secretary Rubio's visit to the Caribbean this week. On Wednesday, Rubio is scheduled to meet with the president of Haiti's Presidential Transitional Council Fritz Jean in Jamaica. The Haitian government said the meeting is meant to strengthen regional cooperation related to its challenges. Over 80% of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince has been estimated to be under gang control. Since the MSS arrived, gangs have spread increasingly into rural areas, seizing swathes of territory in the agriculturally critical Artibonite region. In October, the UN said least 70 people, including women and children, were massacred by the Gran Grif gang in the same Artibonite town where the officer disappeared on Tuesday.
