Canada to deploy warships to Haiti

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he would deploy Navy vessels to the coast of Haiti as the Caribbean nation continues to grapple with economic and political insecurity driven by organized criminal groups.

Trudeau, who announced the decision at a meeting of Caribbean leaders in the Bahamas on Thursday, said the vessels will not be used to intercept Haitian migrants but the main goal will be to conduct surveillance alongside Canadian aircraft deployed last month.

“We are working closely together to help,” Trudeau said in a speech at the conference. The Canadian leader did not specify how many ships would take part in the effort or the duration of their mission.

Trudeau explained that Haiti’s plight “weighs heavily” on him. He also pledged $9.1m in humanitarian assistance, as well as $7.4m to help protect Haitian women and children along the country’s border with the Dominican Republic.

Sanctions

Trudeau also announced sanctions on two unnamed Haitian individuals for gang involvement, bringing Canada’s totally sanctioned people to 17.

Later Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the United States would impose visa restrictions on 12 people related to crime in Haiti.

Escalating gang violence has left hundreds of Haitians dead and thousands displaced. Cholera also re-emerged late last year.

The United Nations in October suggested a “rapid action force” be sent to help the national police fight armed gangs, which have grown since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Also Read: Gang violence: Canada freezes assets of three Haitian businessmen

A January survey found seven in 10 Haitians support the proposed force, though abuses from past missions and support for Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s administration has fueled some scepticism.

On Tuesday, more than 40 civil society representatives signed an open letter rejecting any draft resolution backing Henry’s administration and demanding reparations to the families of those killed in a U.N.-linked cholera outbreak a decade ago.

U.N. envoy to Haiti Helen La Lime has said she is “still hopeful” the force could be created, stressing the need for urgency, though no country has yet volunteered to lead such a force.

Haitian leaders including Prime Minister Ariel Henry have previously requested military assistance from the international community to help curb the escalating violence.

Haiti’s gangs have seen their power grow since the assassination of former Haitian President Jovenel Moise in July 2021. The UN estimated in December that 60 percent of the capital city of Port-au-Prince was under gang control.

For more than a month, starting last September, a powerful gang alliance known as the G9 Family and Allies also blockaded a key fuel terminal in the capital, effectively shutting down commerce for much of the city and sparking a humanitarian crisis.

Both Canada and the US have previously sent military hardware to the Haitian government and imposed sanctions on individuals accused of corruption or criminal ties in Haiti.

Zainab Sa’id