PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Kidnappings are rampant, averaging one every six hours last year, while killings are up, with 2,200 homicides in 2022, a dramatic increase over the previous year.
The size of Haiti’s national police force is less than half of what it needs to be. Corruption and collusion with gangs are serious problems. Morale is low and so is the pay. Last year, during a training exercise, officers didn’t even have bullets for target practice. And rampaging gangs made last month the deadliest for Haitian cops in recent memory, killing 14 officers.
Todd Robinson, the Biden administration official in charge of helping Haiti equip and bolster its police force, is under no illusions about the challenges he faces in helping a country root out kidnapping gangs that control at least 60% of its capital.
