Last week, the United Nations Security Council, a body typically riven by substantive disagreements among its permanent member states, managed to come together on Haiti. The small, impoverished nation of 11.5 million has been in a desperate state even before its former president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in his home two years ago. The U.S. and Russia don’t agree on much these days, but both are sufficiently like-minded to call for an international intervention force that would help the Haitian National Police take back control of the country.
Unfortunately, while most recognize some form of outside involvement is necessary, nobody wants to lead the effort. This includes the United States, which has its own controversial history dabbling in Haitian politics. (The U.S. occupied the country for nearly 20 years early in the early 20th century.) The Biden administration has hoped to persuade Canada to take ownership of an intervention, but Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demurred, focusing instead on sending security assistance to Haiti’s police and sanctioning Haitian politicians who have ties to the gangs rampaging the country.
It’s not hard to see why the U.S., Canada and Haiti’s neighbors in the Caribbean are wary of leading a rescue mission. While Haiti may not be officially in a state of civil war, it certainly feels that way to a lot of Haitians who are forced to cower in their homes as rival gangs shoot each other with high-caliber weapons. Approximately 60% of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital and biggest city, is under the control of gangs, which administer their respective districts through fear.
