Security forces from Guatemala and El Salvador arrived in Haiti over the weekend to bolster a delayed United Nations-backed mission aimed at restoring security and combating armed gangs.
Guatemala deployed 150 military police, with 75 arriving Friday and another 75 on Saturday, while El Salvador sent eight personnel to join the mission. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele had earlier pledged 78 troops and three helicopters to support medical evacuations and counter gang-controlled checkpoints.
Haiti has been under a state of emergency for months as gangs dominate much of Port-au-Prince. Haitian leaders, including transitional council president Leslie Voltaire and Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, welcomed the troops alongside U.S. Ambassador Dennis Hankins.
Led by Kenya, which has deployed nearly 400 officers, the mission includes personnel from Jamaica and Belize, with plans to form a 2,500-strong international force. However, the mission has so far struggled to curb escalating violence.
Haiti faces ongoing turmoil, including the March 2024 storming of two major prisons that freed 3,700 inmates. The nation’s challenges stem from chronic instability, natural disasters, and the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, leaving Haiti in economic chaos and plagued by gang violence.
