The UN Security Council voted to drastically increase the Kenyan-led military operations in Haiti. Washington pushed for a UN force to deploy to Port-Au-Prince to take control from gangs and hand it back to the US-backed Haitian government.
On Tuesday, the Security Council approved expanding the multinational security support mission (MSS) to 5,500 troops. The US and Panama sponsored the resolution. Twelve members of the Security Council voted to expand the force while Russia, China, and Pakistan abstained. As permanent members of the UNSC, Beijing and Moscow could have vetoed the resolution.
The expanded role of the MSS will enable the international force to make arrests without requiring coordination with the Haitian police or military.
The UNSC initially approved a force of about 1,500 troops, mostly Kenyan soldiers, in 2023. The Joe Biden administration pressed the body to approve the MSS mission. Kenyan soldiers began arriving in Haiti in 2024.
The US has provided arms, funding, and training for the MSS operation. Washington additionally signed a new defense pact with Nairobi to incentivize Kenya to send its soldiers to Haiti.
However, the MSS has created more chaos in Port-Au-Prince. When then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry traveled to Nairobi to sign an agreement allowing Kenya to send troops to Haiti, gangs expanded their control over Port-Au-Prince, and Henry was forced to resign.
After the Biden administration installed a new government in Haiti, gangs continued to seize more territory. In April, Human Rights Watch reported that the Haitian government only controlled 10% of Port-Au-Prince.
Some Haitians have opposed foreign troops deploying to Port-Au-Prince. UN Peacekeepers have a dark legacy in Haiti, including rampant sexual abuse, torture, murder, and causing a Cholera outbreak that killed about 10,000 people.
Haiti’s descent into chaos accelerated after the assassination of President Jovenal Moise in 2021. Following the president’s murder, the Biden administration installed Henry into power.
The current Haitian government, now led by Prime Minister Garry Conille, has sought the assistance of American mercenaries. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that Blackwater founder Erik Prince is now operating armed drones in Haiti. Earlier this month, a drone strike by the Haitian government anti-gang task force killed eight children.
