PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Facing an unprecedented wave of gang violence that has left more than 5,600 people dead in 2024, Haiti’s interim government has taken a controversial step: hiring foreign mercenaries to help reclaim control of the capital.
In March, Haitian authorities reportedly signed a deal with Vectus Global, a private security firm founded by U.S. contractor Erik Prince, best known for his role in establishing the company Blackwater. Under the arrangement, Vectus personnel have been training Haitian security forces and coordinating drone strikes against gang-controlled zones in Port-au-Prince and nearby areas.
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Nearly 200 Vectus operatives — drawn from the United States, Europe, and El Salvador — are said to be operating in Haiti, with plans to reopen major roads and dislodge gangs within a year. In an August interview with Reuters, Prince said his measure of success would be when citizens could “drive from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haïtien without being stopped by gangs.”
While the campaign has brought limited success so far, it marks a dramatic privatization of Haiti’s national security, sparking concerns about sovereignty, transparency, and human rights.
According to reports, Vectus Global operates under two separate agreements. The first is a one-year contract focused on stabilizing security. The second, unconfirmed by Haitian authorities, allegedly involves restructuring customs and immigration over a ten-year period, granting Vectus a performance-based commission of up to 20% of customs revenue increases and a 3% fixed fee on imports — an arrangement critics describe as “outsourcing sovereignty.”
Haiti’s deteriorating security landscape helps explain the government’s drastic choice. Criminal groups now control about 90% of Port-au-Prince, often outgunning the national police. A Kenyan-led multinational force deployed in 2024 has struggled to make headway, with only 1,000 of 2,500 planned personnel on the ground.
From April to June 2024, more than 1,500 people were killed and 600 injured nationwide, according to the United Nations, with over 60% of casualties occurring during operations involving security forces. Despite new efforts, gangs organized under the “Viv Ansanm” coalition continue to dominate the capital and disrupt supply chains, trade routes, and humanitarian aid.
Rights organizations and policy experts have condemned the deal with Vectus Global. The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre warned that granting a private company control over tax collection, deportation, and border security poses “serious concerns for human rights and government accountability.”
A U.S. official, speaking anonymously to reporters, stressed that there was “no American involvement or oversight” in hiring Vectus Global — a clarification that has only deepened questions about who, if anyone, is monitoring the firm’s activities.
Critics also point to Prince’s controversial history. His former company, Blackwater, became infamous during the Iraq War, particularly after the 2007 Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad, where four Blackwater guards killed 17 civilians. All were later pardoned by Donald Trump in 2020.
At the UN General Assembly in September, global leaders debated how to stabilize Haiti as traditional peacekeeping missions lose traction. The UN Security Council has since approved a plan to transform the current multinational mission into a more aggressive “gang suppression force”, expanding its size to 5,500 personnel. However, funding and troop commitments remain uncertain.
As Haiti grapples with deep-rooted corruption, collapsing governance, and relentless gang warfare, the reliance on private military contractors underscores a troubling global trend — one where profit-driven armies replace accountable state security, with long-term consequences for peace and sovereignty in fragile nations.
