As Haiti grapples with escalating gang violence, political instability, and a worsening humanitarian crisis, regional leaders are reaffirming their commitment to finding solutions.
During a joint press conference on Wednesday, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness reaffirmed his country’s commitment to working alongside the United States to stabilize Haiti, emphasizing the critical need for regional collaboration in addressing the crisis.
“On Haiti, we look forward to continued partnership with the United States as we seek to work with the Haitian leadership and stakeholders to address the ongoing crises in Haiti,” Holness stated. “The extraordinary humanitarian, civil, and national security challenges in Haiti pose an acute threat to Haitians, to regional stability, and indeed to its close neighbors, including Jamaica. We agreed that we must do everything we can to stabilize the security situation in Haiti so that they are better able to build capacity and address their political and humanitarian challenges.”
The press conference followed high-level meetings between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. While in Jamaica, Rubio also met with other regional leaders, including Haitian Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) President Fritz Alphonse Jean. According to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, Secretary Rubio acknowledged the dire security situation in Port-au-Prince and commended the Haitian National Police and international personnel for their efforts to restore order through the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.
“Secretary Rubio reinforced the importance of coordination across the Haitian government to fight the criminal gangs terrorizing the Haitian people,” Bruce stated.
The Caribbean nation has been plagued by lawlessness, with powerful gangs controlling large parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and blocking access to essential supplies. A transitional presidential council (TPC) was established to lead the country toward stabilization and eventual elections. The United Nations also helped to establish the MSS mission, which saw the deployment of hundreds of Kenyan troops to support the Haitian National Police in countering gang violence.
In an effort to provide assistance, the Jamaican government deployed 24 security personnel—20 from the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and four from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF)—last year to Haiti as part of the MSS mission. These personnel were tasked with providing command, planning, and logistics support in addressing the crisis. Prime Minister Andrew Holness emphasized Jamaica’s solidarity with Haiti, stating, “Jamaica has close fraternal ties to the people of Haiti, and we stand in solidarity with them.”
On Tuesday, ahead of Rubio’s visit, Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone underscored the significance of Jamaica’s role in tackling the Haiti crisis, particularly in combating arms and narcotics trafficking that fuel gang violence in the region.
“So, obviously, in combatting these transnational criminal organizations is very key in Jamaica, and the partnership with Jamaica there has been extraordinary, but also arms trafficking and arms trafficking to Haiti, which is exacerbated, obviously – which is what feeds the gang violence in Haiti. So, Jamaica is a key partner from a security perspective in regards to dealing with counternarcotics, in regards to dealing with arms trafficking, and in deepening that coordination will help not only improve the security and safety of Americans but also in dealing with this shared challenge that we have in Haiti.”
