United States Freezes $13.3 Million of Unspent Money for Haiti in Mission Trust Fund
Until now, the United States has been the largest contributor to a UN-endorsed multilateral security mission in Haiti; led by Kenyan troops, it aims to help Haitian police regain control of gang-run areas (AP)
Haiti’s Interim President Announces General Elections for November 2025
Current transitional leader Leslie Voltaire expressed his hopes for an elected government to take power by February 2026, as authorities have consistently deferred elections since 2016 due to the country’s security crisis (Reuters)
Haiti Criticizes U.S. Deportation Plans and Refugee Suspension
Haitian President Leslie Voltaire denounced Washington’s new deportation policies as a dangerous move that could deepen Haiti’s food insecurity and internal displacement (AP)
Colombian President Gustavo Petro Becomes Rare Foreign Leader to Visit Haiti
He held talks with Haiti’s transitional president as the country continues to battle gang violence (Reuters)
Colombia’s presidency said prior to the talks they would cover joint agriculture and economic development projects (AP)
Kenya Sends 217 More Police to Haiti Mission
They join some four hundred Kenyan police already leading a UN-backed mission against gang violence in Haiti; around ten countries have pledged some three thousand personnel for the mission, but few have been sent (Reuters)
Guatemalan, Salvadoran Personnel Reinforce Haiti Mission
Over the weekend, some 150 Guatemalan and 8 Salvadoran security forces arrived in Haiti to reinforce a multinational security mission mostly staffed by Kenyans (Reuters)
Port-au-Prince International Airport Reopens
However, U.S. aviation authorities extended a ban on airlines flying to Haiti; the airport was closed over a spate of violence last month (Reuters)
Gang Members Kill Nearly Two Hundred People in Haiti
Gang members over the weekend killed 184 people, the head of UN human rights said (BBC)
A local Haitian rights group said most of the victims were elderly; local media reported a gang leader blamed some community members for practicing “witchcraft” linked to the death of his son (Reuters)
Reuters: Kenyan Police in Haiti Force Seek Resignation Over Pay Delays
Almost twenty Kenyan police officers within the around four-hundred-person force in Haiti submitted letters of resignation over the past two months, three unnamed officers told Reuters (Reuters)
The resigning officers of the UN-backed anti-gang force cited delayed wages and poor working conditions (Al Jazeera)
UNICEF: Child Recruitment Has Surged in 2024
Up to half of members in armed groups are children and the number of children recruited into such groups rose by 70 percent over the last year, the UN Children’s Fund said (UNICEF)
Haiti Gunfire Hits Passenger Plane, Prompts Flight Suspensions
Multiple airlines halted flights to Haiti after gunfire hit a passenger plane attempting to land in Port-au-Prince (BBC)
The incident came a day after the country’s transitional governing council replaced its prime minister over internal disputes (AP)
Over Twenty U.S. Diplomats to be Evacuated From Haiti
The plan to evacuate is a direct response to an armed gang attack in Port-au-Prince that targeted two U.S. Embassy vehicles; no U.S. workers were harmed in the attack (NYT).
UN: Gang Attacks Cause More Than Ten Thousand Haitians to Flee Their Homes
The number of internally displaced people in the country at the start of September stood at double its level from the six months prior (Reuters)
UN Office in Haiti Warns Conflict Has ‘Worsened’ Despite Security Mission
The head of the United Nations office in Haiti said the situation there has “regrettably worsened” as gangs ratchet up attacks on areas they do not control; the UN Security Council approved an international security mission to the country last year, but only a few hundred of the more than three thousand pledged troops have arrived (Reuters)
Kenya to Send More Police Officers to Haiti
Kenyan President William Ruto pledged to send 600 more police officers in the wake of the Pont-Sondé massacre, which killed 115 civilians; the Kenyan force is currently training for deployment and is expected to be in service by November (Reuters)
Death Toll in Pont Sondé Massacre Rises to 115
Original UN estimates are expected to rise further as local authorities search for victims’ bodies; in the wake of the attack, over six thousand people have fled to the neighboring city of Saint-Marc (AP)
Haitian Criminal Groups Increasing Recruitment of Children
The international security presence on the island has driven Haitian gangs to recruit members as young as ten years old (HRW)
Near-famine conditions are also fueling the rise of child enlistment, as gangs have increasingly become “the only source of food, shelter, or money” (Reuters)
Haiti Prime Minister Travels to Kenya, UAE Seeking Reinforcements for Security Mission
An international security mission aimed at reducing gang violence in Haiti is mostly limited to the capital; gang members killed at least seventy people in a Thursday attack in the country’s west (AP)
Prime Minister Garry Conille said he plans to discuss how to speed the deployment of Kenyan officers and funding while on his visits to Kenya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Reuters)
Pont-Sondé Gang Attack Kills Seventy
According to a statement by the U.N. Human Rights Office, Gran Grif gang members in the Artibonite region killed seventy civilians, including ten women and three infants, with machine guns; the attack follows last week’s announcement of U.S. sanctions against Gran Grif leader Luckson Elan (NYT)
UNSC Votes to Continue Security Mission
The UN Security Council (UNSC) voted yesterday to extend its endorsement of Haiti’s Kenya-led multinational security mission by one year; while a prior draft of the resolution called for transitioning the mission to an official UN peacekeeping operation, the adopted text did not mention such a shift (RFI)
UN to Vote on Extending Endorsement of Haiti Mission
The UN Security Council has endorsed (but does not officially operate) a multinational security mission in Haiti, the mandate of which is due to expire on Wednesday; the council is expected to vote today on a yearlong extension of that endorsement (Miami Herald)
Kenya’s President Visits Security Mission in Haiti, Pledges More Personnel
In addition to vowing six hundred more Kenyan police officers for the security mission in Haiti, Kenyan President William Ruto said he supported transforming the Kenyan-led multinational security mission into a UN peacekeeping operation; Kenya currently has some four hundred police officers stationed in the country (BBC)
Haiti Creates Council to Plan First Elections Since 2016
Seven people were named to the council, a member of Haiti’s transition government said; two more are expected to be named in the coming days (AP)
Haiti’s last elected president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in 2021 and the country has had interim governments ever since (NPR)
Haiti Registered More Than Fifty-Four Thousand Deaths From Cholera in 2023
Haiti’s death toll is the highest in the Western Hemisphere, according to the World Health Organization (WHO); the body lamented the fact that global cholera deaths last year jumped 71 percent from the previous year (WHO,NYT)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Announces $45 million in New Aid to Haiti
Blinken called for an extension of the mandate for a U.S.-backed international security mission on his visit to the country; its UN mandate is set to expire at the beginning of next month (VOA)