Twenty-six (26) Jamaican police and soldiers recently landed in Haiti to assist in the fight against strong gangs as part of a UN-backed operation headed by Kenya. The first group of Kenyan police officers landed in Haiti in late June, marking the start of the operation, which the UN Security Council authorized in October 2023, and Jamaica is the second nation to participate.
According to their government, two senior military commanders from Belize, a country in Central America, were traveling with the Jamaicans.
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The US Coast Guard informed a popular news media that one of its aircraft carried the Jamaicans and Belizeans to Haiti.
The twenty troops and four police officers would be in charge of providing leadership, planning, and logistical assistance, according to a statement made earlier this week by Jamaican officials announcing the impending deployment.
Together with the military and police of Haiti, they will combat gangs that hold 80% of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated that it was not feasible to send all 170 troops and 30 police officers that Jamaica had promised.
The deployment of the Jamaicans coincides with the US warning that the Kenyan-led mission is short-staffed and that it is exploring the possibility of deploying a UN peacekeeping force to raise additional funding and manpower.
A draft resolution requesting that the UN begin preparations for a United Nations peacekeeping force to replace the present deployment was recently circulated by the United States and Ecuador. It is improbable that the UN Security Council will adopt it, according to analysts.
A total of 2,500 people is anticipated to be involved in the present expedition; police and military from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, and Chad have all promised to deploy personnel, though it was unclear when that would happen.
