A contingent of 400 Kenyan soldiers arrived at the airport this Tuesday Toussaint Louverture of Port-au-Prince to support the Haitian National Police in stopping violence at the hands of armed gangs, which has caused thousands of victims and displaced people. The president of the United States, Joe Biden, celebrated the arrival of African forces this Tuesday and requested that more countries support this security mission because, in his opinion, it is the best opportunity that country has to achieve peace.
“The people of Haiti deserve to feel safe in their homes, build a better life for their families, and enjoy democratic freedoms. Haiti’s future depends on a return to democratic governance. Although these objectives may not be achieved overnight, this mission provides the best opportunity to achieve them,” the US president said in a statement.
Among the countries that have committed to contributing personnel and financial resources to this deployment, according to that statement released by the White House, are Spain, the United Kingdom, Benin, Canada, France, Germany and Turkey.
The United States, the largest financial contributor to the mission, has provided some $360 million, including $60 million in equipment alone.
“We will continue our diplomatic strategy to encourage more countries to join this effort, because what happens in Haiti is important for its neighbors, the region and the world. “Haiti is an extraordinary country and its people deserve what people everywhere deserve: security, opportunity and freedom,” Biden added.
The flight, from the national flag carrier Kenya Airways, departed from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last night with the presence, at the foot of the runway, of the Minister of the Interior, Kindiki Kithure, among other authorities, hours after the president of Kenya, William Rutobid farewell to the troops at an official event in Nairobi.
In a message on
“The Government and people of Haiti hope that this multinational mission will be the last one that contributes to stabilizing the country so that it can renew its political personnel and return to an effective democracy (…) Long live solidarity between peoples,” wrote Conille , who stressed his determination to restore peace to the country.
The troops arrived this Tuesday are part of the total 1,000 police officers Kenya offered to lead multinational mission of security support, authorized by the United Nations Security Council.
The agents come from various police units and have received training in different areas, including languages.
Their presence “in Haiti will bring relief to women, men and children whose lives have been destroyed by violence by armed gangs (…) We will work with the international community to achieve lasting stability in Haiti,” Ruto said on Monday via from social network X.
Last week, Ruto spoke to Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), whose establishment last April was a necessary condition for Kenya to send its agents.
Likewise, the inspector general of the National Police Service (NPS) of Kenya, Japhet Koome, met in Nairobi on June 18 with a delegation of the Haitian Police, a few weeks after a Kenyan reconnaissance team returned from the Caribbean country .
The police contingent arrived in Haiti this Tuesday, despite the judicial obstacles that the deployment has encountered in the Kenyan courts.
He Nairobi High Court On October 12, a hearing was scheduled for October 7 on a new appeal by a Kenyan opposition party against the deployment of the first agents to Haiti.
In October 2023, the UN Security Council authorized the sending of a support mission to the Haitian National Police, in response to the request made a year earlier by the authorities of the Caribbean country to eradicate violence by armed gangs.
Last year, this violence caused 8,000 victims in Haiti, where criminal gangs have come to control 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as other areas of the country, according to UN figures.
(With information from EFE)
