Haiti’s new interim government appears to be settling in and is focusing on a number of pressing problems, including pushing the Kenyans to lead a multi-nation international peace-keeping force to the island to tackle gang violence, as well as generally improving the tenuous security situation and helping the newly minted cabinet ministers settle into their jobs.
Prime Minister Gary Conille last week summoned an urgent meeting of the superior council of the national police system as the group sought to come up with ways to curb street crime such as burglaries of homes and commercial entities, and recapturing territory and districts in the city and outskirts that have been under the control of heavily armed gangs for more than two years.
The security meeting came hours after Conille held a virtual meeting with top Kenyan officials as they prepared for an imminent deployment of about 1,000, mostly police officers, to lead the United Nations-approved force to retake city streets from gangs that have killed hundreds of people since street violence spiked in the aftermath of the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Conille said he is determined to bring stability back to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) nation of about 11 million.
“I had a major meeting with the members of the national police,” Conille told reporters. “We discussed the insecurity that is destroying our society. I would like to announce that the government will take several urgent measures to send a clear signal to provide a response to this security crisis. Peace and stability must prevail throughout the country.”
Kenya is due to begin deployment in the coming weeks with support from several fellow Caricom nations, as well as other countries around the world.
The 15-nation Caricom grouping, of which Haiti was the last nation to join back in 2002, had done much to force out the remnants of the unpopular previous government and, with the international community, helped to facilitate formation of the current interim administration, which is charged with restoring order, revitalizing the economy, and preparing the country for fresh general elections in about two years.
The island has no formally elected government nor parliamentarians at this point, because delayed elections meant that most legal terms have expired.
Conille recently called for a special cabinet retreat to streamline various ministries awarded to interim council members, saying that time is not on the side of the cabinet.
“Your commitment to the service of your country honors you and at the same time, it obliges you to succeed for the good of our nation,” Conille said in a published letter to colleagues. “The difficulties and expectations are immense, but your dedication is boundless. Ministers are required not to consider any administrative measures regarding the addition of personnel or internal movements having a budgetary or strategic impact unless there is an urgent, justifiable need.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has authorized the release of just over $100 million to Haiti to acquire military equipment, including armored vehicles for police officers, dozens of whom have been killed by gangsters in recent months. Republican representatives had been opposing the aid to Haiti for months, but Blinken said he had found ways of circumventing the release of money to Haiti. It is unclear whether this is part of an already-approved $300 million grant that was announced back in March.
