Haiti’s many problems and few solutions explained

Haiti, a nation shaken by gang cruelty and plagued by political infighting, has – so far this year – three prime ministers, has seen at least 4,000 people die and has suffered brutality from armed groups so intense that it forced its international airport to close twice.

But despite the $600 million spent by Washington on an international police force to restore order, an explosion of violence last week underscored the enormity of a crisis so serious that the Federal Aviation Administration has banned U.S. planes from flying below 10,000 feet in Haitian airspace to prevent gangs from shooting at them.

With another interim prime minister in office, but gangs gaining territory every day, Haitians are desperate for help.

Efforts to stabilize Haiti are failing, and the country presents a dangerous and disastrous challenge as the president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.

Human skulls in the middle of the road in the center of Port-au-Prince. Photo Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

Few people seem to have answers.

“I am completely baffled,” said Susan D. Page, a University of Michigan law professor and former United Nations official in Haiti.

“Everyone is a little stunned.”

What is happening?

Haiti has experienced a crisis that has been brewing for some 15 years, a period marked by a devastating earthquake, wasted aid money, marred international interventions and flawed presidential elections.

In 2021, the president, Jovenel Moïsewas murdered in his home.

The United States intervened to decide who would become the next prime minister, but many Haitians opposed the election, Ariel Henry.

During his three years in office, murders and kidnappings by well-armed gangs increased.

The United States had little interest in sending its own troops to confront criminal groups.

Instead, the Biden administration came up with a plan for an international mission made up primarily of Kenyan police officers to help support local police.

In February, while Henry was in Kenya finalizing the details of the plan, rival gangs in Haiti united, unleashed terror, and forced him to leave the country.

Inside an armored vehicle as Kenyan officers, who make up the bulk of a multinational force, patrol near the National Palace. Photo Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

For months, the main airport was closed, neighborhoods were burned and civilians were killed.

To fill the power vacuum, the United States and Caribbean countries helped Haiti hatch a plan for a nine-member transitional presidential council to govern the country.

A former UN official, Garry Conille, was named interim prime minister.

The Kenyans arrived in June and the gangs seemed, at least briefly, to retreat.

What is happening now?

The presidential council announced last week that it had fired Conille and replaced him.

In an apparent effort to sow chaos and demonstrate that they still wield considerable power, gang leaders They intensified their attacks.

On Monday they shot at at least three American planes and took over more neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, the capital.

Videos circulating on social media showed people running through the streets, many of them carrying children and suitcases.

An already grim situation could get worse.

Gangs have traditionally avoided upper-class neighborhoods where wealthy Haitians, diplomats and international aid workers live.

But experts fear that could soon change, leaving the entire capital in the hands of armed groups that some now call “paramilitaries.”

And now what?

Garry Conille, surrounded by security personnel, had a brief tenure as Haiti’s interim prime minister before being ousted. Photo Odelyn Joseph/Associated Press

The Kenyan-led mission that the Biden administration created and funded is widely seen as a disappointment.

Few other countries contributed money, leaving the force with fewer than 400 police officers, far fewer than the 2,500 initially planned.

Trump has done derogatory comments about Haitiand many people believe that he will force Kenyans to leave as soon as he takes office.

(His team did not respond to a request for comment.)

The Biden administration is pushing hard to make Kenya’s police mission, known as Multinational Security Support Missionor MSS, becomes an official UN peacekeeping force.

That would solve several problems: lack of personnel, equipment and money.

A UN peacekeeping force would force member countries to contribute financially and provide troops, taking the burden of finding money and officers off of Washington’s hands.

Although the latest UN peacekeeping force brought the anger to the country and became embroiled in sexual abuse scandals, the current situation is so desperate that the move would largely be welcomed.

But China and Russiawho have veto power, have made it clear that they are not interested in such a move.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss sending an assessment team to Haiti to explore the idea this week, said a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to publicly discuss Haiti policy.

The hope is that the two countries will abstain rather than veto the proposal, according to several officials familiar with the talks.

Still, even if a U.N. peacekeeping mission were approved, it would take months to create, the U.S. official said.

Kenyan police officers guard Haiti’s main port in Port-au-Prince. The multinational force has 400 officers and is vastly outnumbered by well-armed gangs. Photo Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

The current multinational force is expected to increase to 1,000 officers by the end of the year with the addition of air support from El Salvador and maritime support from the Bahamas, the official said.

Haiti will also soon receive about 20 more armored vehicles.

The mission was hampered because Caribbean and Latin American countries with a direct interest in preventing mass migration from Haiti did not provide the help they should have received, the official said.

President Joe Biden discussed a UN peacekeeping force with the president Xi Jinping of China during their meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru on Saturday, but the Chinese leader did not change his mind, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

If the UN Security Council rejects the measure, another option would be to strengthen the multinational mission.

But Congress has refused to spend more money for Haiti.

Asked if the Biden administration’s strategy was failing, a second senior U.S. official said the administration had done what it could with the limited resources Congress made available, adding that lawmakers were not addressing the crisis in Haiti with the same urgency as other emergencies around the world, such as Ukraine or the Middle East.

Kenyan and Jamaican members of the multinational at the mission’s operations center in Port-au-Prince. Photo Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic plans, maintained that the United States has prevented the Haitian government from collapsing.

Will it be necessary to negotiate with the gangs?

Vanda Felbab-Brown, an expert on non-state armed groups at the Brookings Institution, said that if the crisis persists, it will likely force the Haitian government to take an unpleasant but perhaps necessary step.

“If desperation reaches epic proportions, I think a more likely scenario is to see the political system” negotiate with gangshe said, adding that would “give the gangs more power than they already have.”

That’s easier said than done.

In Port-au-Prince they operate until 20 different gangsand many of them have committed horrible crimes.

Although gang leaders talk openly about wanting a “place at the table,” they have not offered to lay down their arms, and the Haitian government is determined not to negotiate from a position of weakness, several experts said.

No one is seriously discussing an amnesty for gang leaders who have committed multiple homicides.

But because the gangs have approximately 12,000 members – half of them minors – serious talks would eventually have to take place to determine how to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate them into society, the first US official said.

Many gang members are desperately poor teenagers who lack job opportunities.

Analysts agree that Haiti needs to implement important job training and education to lure children from the clutches of armed groups who pay a regular salary.

Talks are unlikely to begin until the MSS and Haitian National Police manage to capture or kill top leaders, a goal they have not yet achieved.

How will the flow of weapons be stopped?

Several Haiti experts stressed that the United States needs to do more to end the flow of weapons from its shores to Haiti.

Whether the solution is a full arms embargo or tougher sanctions against people known to finance and control gangs, experts agreed that the crisis will not end until high-powered weapons are off the streets.

“This is what Haitians have been constantly saying:

‘We don’t produce weapons,’” ​​said Nathalie Frédéric Pierre, a Haiti expert at Howard University.

“This is what is suffocating our society.”

Several Haitians interviewed expressed disappointment that the United States spent so much money on the international force instead of spending more on the understaffed and ill-equipped Haitian National Police.

“We have wasted a lot of time, money and energy that we could have invested in our own solution for Haiti,” said Vélina Élysée Charlier, a human rights activist in Port-au-Prince.

Leslie Voltaire, who currently chairs the transitional presidential council (a position that rotates every few months), said she hopes to see police achieve some victories against gangs, even if they are “easy targets.”

“We are seeing that the international community is helping, but in a very slow way,” he said.

He hopes to see the mission in Kenya strengthened with a better flow of supplies.

He said he is working on an action plan to present to the international community that includes constitutional reform and planning for the presidential elections next November.

“This is our roadmap, but it is very bumpy,” he said.

He does not know if Trump will end the Kenyan-led mission.

“I sent him a tweet congratulating him,” Voltaire said.

“I know he loves tweets.”

Has not received a response.

c.2024 The New York Times Company

How do the historical context⁤ and⁢ socioeconomic factors contribute ⁢to the persistence of gang violence in⁢ Haiti, and⁤ what lessons can be learned⁢ to prevent similar situations⁣ in⁢ other nations?

⁢D questions to facilitate a deeper​ understanding of the topic:

1. How would you characterize ​the current state of Haiti in ⁣light of the recent gang violence and political turmoil?

2. What are the challenges facing the multinational security⁤ mission in ⁣Haiti, and how have they impacted the country’s‍ situation?

3. What are some potential solutions to the ongoing crisis, including negotiations with⁤ gang leaders and⁤ disarmament⁤ efforts?

4. What⁢ role does international ⁤aid⁢ have played in addressing the crisis ‌thus‌ far, ⁣and how could‍ it be better leveraged?

5. ⁣What is the significance of​ the‍ proposed UN peacekeeping force, and what are the potential⁤ implications of China and Russia’s stance ⁢on ‌the matter?

6. What are ⁤some long-term solutions to addressing the root causes of gang violence ​and ⁢stabilizing Haiti’s⁢ government and economy?

7. How might the flow of weapons ⁢into Haiti be ⁢curbed, considering its impact⁣ on the ongoing crisis?

8. How ‌could outside players,​ such as the United States and other‌ nations, ⁣support Haiti’s national police ⁣force more ⁤effectively?

9. What are the prospects for constitutional reform and holding presidential elections next​ year, given the current security situation?

10. In your opinion, what ​should the international community’s approach ‌be towards Haiti moving forward?