Washington.- The United States on Monday promised support and resources for the multinational force led by Kenya that will be deployed in Haiti to combat the crisis, although it did not specify whether this aid will be financial or whether it will send troops.
“We are committed to finding the resources to support this multinational force, but it is still too early to go into detail about what those resources might be,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at his daily briefing.
Miller recalled that the United Nations Security Council still has to approve a resolution endorsing the deployment of the multinational force, so that Kenya can then send a first evaluation mission on the ground.
The Kenyan government announced on Saturday its willingness to lead that mission and deploy 1,000 police officers to the Caribbean country, almost 10 months after Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry asked for the help of a multinational force.
Six years after the end of the mandate of the questioned UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah), the possible arrival of said force, although expected, generates concern in the most impoverished country in the region, where this type of mission -10 in the last 30 years – has always been the subject of controversy.
The Joe Biden government has refused to lead the multinational force, but has been sounding out other countries to take on that role.
Miller said the United States has been “working behind the scenes” to get this international force set up, an effort he said has been “more appropriate and more useful” than leading the mission.
Immersed for years in a sociopolitical and economic crisis, Haiti saw its situation worsen even more after the assassination in July 2021 of then-President Jovenel Moise.
Added to this is the battle waged by armed gangs in and around Port-au-Prince, which has already caused the death of hundreds of people and the flight of thousands from the capital area.
An American nurse and her son have been kidnapped in Haiti, the religious organization for which she works reported Sunday.
The news came just days after the US Embassy in Haiti asked all Americans to leave the country as soon as possible, but Miller did not confirm whether the two events are related.
