US Announces $60 Million in Aid, Security Resources for Haiti Amid Gang Violence

Linda Thomas-Greenfield appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on her nomination to be the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Jan. 27, 2021. (Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

The United States will give Haiti an additional $60 million in humanitarian aid and security assets to help quell gang violence in the crisis-hit nation, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said on Monday.

The latest aid package, announced by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield during her visit to Haiti, brings the total U.S. humanitarian support for the Caribbean country to $165 million this year.

Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said the aid package will fill gaps in nutrition, food security, and shelter; improve water and sanitation services; and provide Haitians with cash to buy essential commodities.

The package is also intended to support protection services for those most vulnerable in Haiti, including survivors of gender-based violence, the envoy said in a statement.

The U.S. government, through the Department of Defense, will also provide “a significant number” of mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles to the multinational security support mission to Haiti.

Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said the State Department was planning to procure additional armored vehicles to help mission personnel in supporting the Haitian police to counter gang violence.

The United States has sent 16 armored personnel carriers to Haiti this year as part of a $200 million investment to build the capacity of Haitian police to counter criminal gangs and improve security.

“The U.S. government continues to stand with the people of Haiti,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield stated.

Ms. Thomas-Greenfield also met with Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille to discuss priorities for assistance to the Haitian people, including food insecurity, youth unemployment, sexual and gender-based violence, and health infrastructure needs.

A man with his face covered calls on demonstrators to stop during a protest against Prime Minister Ariel Henry's government in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 1, 2024. (Ralph Tedy Erol/Reuters)

Haiti has been grappling with a severe political, humanitarian, and security crisis following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

In October 2023, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of a multinational security support mission, led by Kenya, to help Haitian police tackle gang violence. Kenya deployed its first 400 police officers to Haiti last month.

The UN said in a June report that gang violence in Haiti has reached “alarming levels,” with armed groups dominating a significant part of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and complicating humanitarian access.

“Clashes between gangs and the Haitian National Police have created a pervasive environment of fear, restricting freedom of movement and access to basic services,” the agency stated.

The report stated that 2,500 Haitians, including 82 children, have been killed or injured due to gang violence in the first quarter of 2024. Nearly half of Haiti’s 11.7 million residents are suffering from acute hunger.

Haiti now holds the highest number of displacements due to crime-related violence, with 578,074 internal displacements reported this year. Hundreds of schools in Haiti have closed due to the ongoing violence.

The UN has called for the multinational security support mission in Haiti to assist the local police and improve security “under conditions that comply with international human rights norms and standards.”