The United States is pushing to double the size of the international security force deployed in Haiti and shift its leadership away from Kenya, a senior diplomat said this week at the Organization of American States.
U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Kimberly J. Penland told the OAS that the Trump administration is drafting a resolution for the UN Security Council to “properly resource” Haiti’s faltering security efforts. The resolution, she said, would also back UN Secretary General António Guterres’ proposal to finance the mission through peacekeeping funds.
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“Should the UN Security Council pursue this model, then we will also seek robust regional participation to provide strategic leadership of the force,” Penland added.
The U.S. plan is tied to a broader three-year, $2.6 billion roadmap for Haiti’s recovery. More than half the funding—about $1.3 billion—would be directed toward rebuilding the Haitian National Police, reforming the justice system, and dismantling armed gangs.
Haiti’s transitional government has increasingly turned to non-state actors to confront gangs that control much of Port-au-Prince. Reuters reported last week that U.S. private security executive Erik Prince is preparing to deploy several hundred mercenaries to Haiti through his company, Vectus Global. The force, made up of fighters from the U.S., Europe, and El Salvador, is expected to work alongside Haitian police.
Prince has publicly claimed he could help restore order within a year, pointing to the ability to drive safely from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haïtien as a key benchmark. His involvement has drawn attention since April, when The Washington Postreported on efforts to use explosive-laden drones against gangs advancing toward government buildings. InSight Crime later confirmed the drone attacks targeted neighborhoods under gang control.
The push to expand the international force comes as Haiti’s political leadership, under a transitional presidential council, struggles to reestablish authority and prevent gangs from consolidating control over the capital.
