Foreign law enforcement officers began arriving in Haiti on Tuesday, a year and a half after Haiti’s prime minister called on other countries for help in stemming the rampant gang violence that has upended the Caribbean nation.
The United Nations says more than 7,500 people have died violently since the call was launched in October 2022, with more than 2,500 killed so far this year alone.
With the presidency vacant and the national government weakened, dozens of gangs have taken over much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, setting up roadblocks, kidnapping and killing civilians and attacking entire communities. According to the United Nations, some 200,000 people were forced from their homes between March and May
Now, the first team of 400 Kenyan police officers have arrived in Haiti to crack down on these criminal groups, an operation largely organized by the Biden administration. Kenya is the first country to deploy a force of 2,500 international police and soldiers from eight countries.
“You are carrying out an important mission that transcends borders and cultures,” Kenyan President William Ruto told military officers on Monday. “Your presence in Haiti will bring hope and relief to communities torn apart by violence and unrest.”
Kenyan officials are expected to tackle a long list of priorities, including regaining control of the country’s main ports and freeing major highways from criminal gangs demanding money from drivers.
“Gang checkpoints on these roads are also their main source of income, by extorting money from everyone they pass by, and by kidnapping and holding people for huge ransoms,” said William O’Neill, the United Nations human rights expert on Haiti.
“Although there have been many delays, the arrival of the Kenyans comes at the right time,” he said, especially after the appointment of a new police chief and prime minister in recent weeks.
A small assessment team from Kenya arrived in May to begin preparations but found a lack of equipment. That leaves the United States, the mission’s main supplier, scrambling for armored vehicles and other equipment.
Dennis B. Hankins, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, said in an interview that “Kenyans did not want to be one of these missions that were on the ground, and in the space of a month, they went from Without ever leaving their base, “They want to be able to see quickly that they’re making an impact. “
The deployment, officially known as the Multinational Security Support Mission, is expected to last at least a year, according to the U.S. government. It is sanctioned by the United Nations and funded primarily by the United States, and its goal is to support Haitian police and establish enough stability so that the transitional government can hold elections to elect a new president as well as the National Assembly.
The US military has sent more than 90 flights to Haiti to prepare for this mission, transporting more than 2,600 tons of supplies. Civilian contractors have been building dormitories for Kenyan military officers at Toussaint Louverture Airport in Port-au-Prince.
In May, Haitian government officials began clearing hundreds of homes around the airport, making it easier for gangs to hide and fire on planes, forcing the airport to close.
The airport has reopened for commercial flights. But gang leaders say they will fight Kenyans they consider to be intruders.
Mr Hankins said: “As soon as the airport was open and operational we started seeing military flights and that had a really significant impact on people’s psyche.”
Many experts are cautious about the international force’s assessment, largely because there is no comprehensive plan to address the root causes of many of Haiti’s governance problems beyond addressing insecurity.
After Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned in late April, it took the political parties several weeks to agree on the members of a new transitional presidential committee. It was a full month before Mr Henry’s successor took office.
Former U.N. official Garry Conille accepted the position in late May. His office and the transition council declined to comment Monday on the upcoming deployment.
Hankins said Haitian authorities face difficult decisions, such as whether to first seize control of Port-au-Prince’s central hospital from gangs or secure the port so fuel, food and other goods can continue to flow.
He added that while preparations were being made at the airport, the groups did not fight back. He said Kenyans would “support” Haitian police but not replace them so that their departure would not create a “security vacuum” when the mission ends.
so far, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Chad, Jamaica and Kenya have officially provided personnel for the mission.
But the mission has not received much financial commitment.
Although Kenyan officials estimate the cost will be as high as $600 million, only $21 million in U.N. funds are available to cover the costs. The United States has committed more than $300 million to this mission.
Kenya’s deployment comes a month after Mr Ruto visited the United States at the invitation of President Joe Biden. The four-day visit is the first state visit by a Kenyan president in two decades and the first by an African leader since 2008.
The United States, Canada and France – Haiti’s biggest donors and allies – are unwilling to send their own troops to Haiti.
Kenya is the first country to publicly propose doing so. Many experts believe that the delegation would be more popular if it were led by an African country.
Experts say Ruto, who wins the presidency in 2022 after a hotly contested election, is using the deployment to further boost his profile on the global stage.
The rollout comes as Mr Ruto faces massive nationwide protests over a finance bill that critics say will increase the already high cost of living.
A team of Haitian police commanders recently visited Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and Mr Ruto held talks with Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council.
At a police camp in Nairobi, officers involved in the deployment made final preparations. They received physical and weapons training and were given new helmets and body armor, according to interviews with officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly to reporters.
They also attended intensive courses in French and Creole.
In addition to protecting critical infrastructure, the officials are expected to secure the presidential palace at some point.
“The early deployment of this force will be very fragile,” said Sophie Ruttenbar, a visiting scholar at New York University’s Center for International Cooperation who has worked in Haiti.
She said the initial team was likely to “proceed with caution” at first, but even if more officials arrived from other countries, their task would be daunting, especially since they had not worked together before and did not speak the same language. Languages may have a shared “operational framework”.
Eugene Chen, a former U.N. official who follows Haiti closely, said the international mission seemed to emerge out of an urgent need to do something. Mr Chen said the mission could exacerbate violence if it fails to find ways to support Haiti’s political process.
“It’s not clear,” Mr. Chen added, “whether that’s the right answer.”
Abdi Latif Dahir contributed reporting from Nairobi, and David C. Adams From Miami.
