U.S. pushing for a fresh military intervention in Haiti

People displaced by gang violence at a makeshift shelter in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on June 4. | AP

Activists said on Tuesday that the United States is exploiting proxy forces with its proposal to introduce a United Nations resolution for military intervention in Haiti. The Caribbean nation has been struggling with worsening political and economic instability, which has been exacerbated by gang violence.

The U.S. State Department said that it will soon introduce a resolution to the U.N. Security Council for a multinational force to help combat gangs in Haiti.

On Saturday, the Kenyan government offered to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti to support local police, who have been overwhelmed by the gangs, which dominate much of the country.

The offer has been welcomed by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who has been pushing for months for the Security Council to authorize a military intervention. U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that Guterres “values Kenya’s consideration to possibly lead a non-U.N. multinational force.”

The U.S. had lobbied Canada to lead a force, as French is widely spoken in both Canada and Haiti. But the Canadians have so far refused to get involved.

Despite the problem of gang violence, many Haitians and their supporters remain opposed to any military intervention due to the disastrous history of past UN and U.S. interventions there.

Haitian civil society groups cite past problems caused by foreign intervention and fears that the international community would be propping up Haitian officials seen as partly responsible for the country’s crises.

Haitians have experienced numerous foreign military interventions in their country, including a U.S. intervention in 1991 aimed at removing a military regime that had overthrown President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

U.N. deployments in Haiti have also failed. “Peacekeepers” sent to the country after the devastating 2010 earthquake were linked to an outbreak of cholera that killed more than 10,000 people. And international troops have also been accused of widespread sexual violence.

Activist and journalist Dimitri Lascaris said: “We have seen this scam before. The U.S. government is cynically exploiting proxy forces to impose its will on the Haitian people.”

Morning Star

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CONTRIBUTOR

Roger McKenzie

Roger McKenzie is the International Editor of Morning Star, Britain’s daily socialist newspaper. He is the author of the book "African Uhuru: The Fight for African Freedom in the Rise of the Global South" published by Manifesto Press.