WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is considering calls for the creation of a humanitarian corridor in Haiti to break the blockade of fuel by armed gangs and protect the delivery of aid as the country faces one of its worst health, energy and security crises in a generation.
White House and State Department officials acknowledged Friday that a flurry of conversations had taken place over the past week over the deteriorating situation across Haiti. Confirmation of a deadly cholera outbreak amid widespread civil unrest and a months-long blockade by powerful of the country’s ports and main fuel terminal, Varreux, have prompted calls for international action.
On Thursday, the United Nations Integrated Office in Port-au-Prince issued a plea for the creation of a “humanitarian corridor,” and on Friday, interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry officially published a request seeking the help of the country’s international partners for “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force” in the government’s official registry, Le Moniteur.
