Haiti Reaches Deal With Military Contractor Erik Prince To Fight Gangs Close To Taking The Capital

The Haitian government has hired U.S. military contractor Erik Prince to help its forces fight against powerful gangs controlling most of the capital, as local forces and a multinational mission led by Kenya continue struggling to make gains.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Prince, the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, has been among several contractors hired to deploy drones aimed at killing gang members.

The Washington Post reported in April about the effort to deploy weaponized drones, detailing that they are commercial models modified with improvised explosives. Authorities have yet to report a high-profile killing as a result from the strategy.

Regardless, their use has drawn support from some Haitian citizens and human rights organizations. Some others, in contrast, have expressed concern about accountability and collateral damage. The Haitian National Police denied using weaponized drones, and the commander of the Kenya-led international police mission said his forces were not involved.

The outlet added that Prince has also been scouting Haitian American military veterans to hire and send to Port-au-Prince to aid forces there. He expects to send up to 150 mercenaries to the country over the summer and has already shipped a large amount of weapons there. Kenya, leading the multinational mission, has sent 200 police officers to the Caribbean country. The State Department told the NYT that it's not paying Prince to operate in the country.

The development comes after Dorothy Camille Shea, interim chargé d'affaires at the U.S. mission at the UN, signaled the Trump administration could be close to cutting aid to the country.

"America cannot continue shouldering such a significant burden," she said. Shea then requested other countries to increase their support for the Caribbean country, going through a deep crisis that has no perspective of improving.

Waters is apparently seeking to expand operations in Latin America. In April, he was part of a group of military contractors who pitched the White House a plan to largely expand deportations to El Salvador and potentially avoid ongoing legal challenges: declaring part of the country as U.S. territory.