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Rubio says US backs Kenyan-led Haiti mission but more needed

National

By AFP | Feb 07, 2025

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the United States backed an international security mission in Haiti but wanted a broader solution in the troubled country that includes economic stimulus.

On a visit to the neighbouring Dominican Republic, Rubio said he called President William Ruto of Kenya, which leads the multinational force, to voice appreciation.

"I think it's also important to note, however, that that mission as currently constructed will not be enough," Rubio told reporters.

The mission "needs to find a new direction in order to be successful at rooting out armed groups that today have taken possession of large portion of Haitian territory," he said.

He called for a focus on "what we can be doing now to set the stage for an economic renaissance that allows the people of Haiti to live in peace and prosperity."

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Rubio signed waivers to a sweeping ban on aid by President Donald Trump to allow assistance to the multinational force.

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, speaking next to Rubio, voiced hope for more international support for the mission.

"Haiti is drowning, while a significant part of the international community passively watches from the shore," he said.

"In the case of Haiti, the leadership of the United States is indispensable and irreplaceable," he said.

Rubio’s sentiments come as a new contingent of Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti on Thursday to bolster the UN-backed security mission.

The police contingent, which Kenya's interior ministry said earlier included 144 officers, was greeted at the international airport in Port-au-Prince by interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime and Leslie Voltaire, head of Haiti's presidential transition council.

It's the second foreign contingent to arrive in just a few days, following 60 Salvadoran officers on Tuesday.

Kenya is leading the mission, which aims to help Haiti's national police push back against gangs which control large parts of the country, including the majority of the capital.

Nairobi previously sent 400 officers in December and over 200 last month with the latest reinforcements bringing the total to around 1,000.

Despite the deployment, Haiti continues to suffer from crippling instability due to rampant gang violence.

On Monday, the capital was once again plunged into panic following threats made by influential gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, known as "Barbecue."

In the Kenscoff area in the capital region, a series of armed attacks have left at least 150 dead in recent days, according to a provisional toll released by the FJKL rights group.

Last year, at least 5,601 people were killed in gang-related violence, a thousand more than in 2023, according to the UN. The UN also recorded 315 lynchings of people allegedly affiliated with gangs as well as 281 cases of alleged summary executions by police.

Gang violence has forced many Haitians to flee their homes, with the UN's migration agency putting the figure of displaced people around the country at over a million.

The future of the security mission was thrown into disarray for a short period this week after the US government moved to cut off aid as part of a larger halt to international funding under President Donald Trump.

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio later issued a waiver so that funding for the Haiti mission would proceed.

On a visit to the neighbouring Dominican Republic, Rubio said Thursday he had called Kenyan President William Ruto to voice appreciation for leading the force.

"I think it's also important to note, however, that that mission as currently constructed will not be enough," Rubio told reporters.

The mission "needs to find new direction in order to be successful at rooting out armed groups that today have taken possession of large portions of Haitian territory," he said.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has similarly been calling for an infusion of support to make the mission more effective.

In late January, the secretary-general warned that Haiti's capital could become overrun by gangs if the international community did not step up aid to the security mission.