American Veteran Missing In Haiti After Failed Mission With Private Contractor

An American veteran has been missing for months following a failed mission conducted by a private contractor in Haiti, according to a new report.

The New York Times detailed that the man in question is Miot Patrice Jacquet, a U.S. Navy veteran and logistics coordinator, who went missing along with his cousin, Haitian police officer Steeve Duroseau.

They both disappeared in December during an operation conducted by Studebaker Defense and have not been since then. Haitian police believe corrupt officers working with gangs were involved in their abductions.

The outlet noted that Haiti's transitional government turned to private contractors like Studebaker as traditional military assistance from foreign governments remained limited.

The group was paid approximately $150,000 per month to deploy a small team of former U.S. military personnel who trained a Haitian special police unit and supported an operation to capture gang leader Vitel'homme Innocent.

The mission failed, the men went missing and the presence of Studebaker was revealed, with authorities asking it to suspend operations less than two months after arriving in the country.

The group reportedly left behind a cache of AR-15-style rifles They were then stolen by armed men posing as police officers. That same day, Duroseau vanished. Three days later, Jacquet was abducted after being ambushed in his car by gunmen, one of whom was driving a U.S.-donated police vehicle. The weapons have not been recovered, and both men remain missing.

The Haitian National Police and government have not publicly commented on the progress of the investigation. Relatives of the missing, including Jacquet's son, have appealed to U.S. lawmakers and law enforcement, but the FBI has stated that such matters fall under local jurisdiction unless there is a criminal nexus with the U.S.

In the meantime, gangs continue gaining territory, recently killing three police officers in the country's central region. The Associated Press reported in late July that the policemen were members of a specialized unit known as UDMO, usually deployed during protests. Videos circulating on social media show gunmen dragging bodies near a burning armored vehicle. A fourth police officer is missing as well.

Haitian National Police lamented the deaths in a statement, adding that forces would intensify operations against gangs in the Artibonite region.

Meanwhile, local police union SPNH-17 called on the government to do more to protect police. "The government does not give the police any importance. If they took this seriously, they would have made the means and support available to the police and the military to end the insecurity," the union said.