Haiti expecting second Kenya-led contingent in coming weeks
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Citing security matters, the interim prime minister declines to provide an estimate of how many officers would arrive.
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Haiti's Prime Minister Garry Conille, right, sitting next to Foreign Minister Dominique Dupuy, meets with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP)
Another wave of the Kenya-led multinational policing mission will touch down "in the coming weeks," in Haiti, according to Interim Prime Minister Garry Conille to AFP on Tuesday.
During an interview in Washington to meet with White House and State Department officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Conille said. "It will happen very quickly. We can already see in the coming weeks that we will have a second contingent."
Conille revealed to AFP that the US is providing logistical and financial support.
Citing security matters, Conille declined to provide an estimate of how many officers would arrive, adding, "But I can already assure you that there is planning being done to be able to gradually strengthen the presence" of those in Haiti.
As part of a mission approved by the UN Security Council, the first group of about 200 Kenyan police officers arrived in June with the alleged intention of assisting the Haitian police in stabilizing the nation, where gangs control over 80% of the capital.
The situation in Haiti plummeted starting late February as powerful and well-armed groups took control of most of the capital Port-au-Prince and much of the country saying they aimed at toppling Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry – who resigned last month.
False 'misrepresentations'
Kenya will lead the mission with the most personnel, supported by up to 2,500 police officers and troops from different nations to allegedly "stabilize" the security situation in the country. Forming the coalition, the US stated it would not take charge or offer troops. Challenges in finding a willing country to lead the effort have initially delayed the mission.
“We concluded that for the United States to deploy forces in the hemisphere just raises all kinds of questions that can be easily misrepresented about what we’re trying to do,” US President Joe Biden said back in May during a news conference with Kenyan President William Ruto.
“So we set out to find a partner or partners who would lead the effort that we would participate in.”
So far, Washington has committed $300 million. In April, Biden used his drawdown authority to allocate $60 million for "anti-crime and counternarcotics" assistance for the mission and the Haitian National Police.
Blinken warned in May that Haiti is on the verge "of becoming a failed state.”
The mission is “focused on police and it’s really focused on strengthening and bolstering the capacity of the Haitian National Police to take this on themselves,” he said. “This is not us policing the world.”
Barbados, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, and Chad are also contributing personnel. Canada and France have offered financial support.
