U.S. Wants To Double The Amount Of International Forces Fighting Gangs In Haiti And Remove Kenya From Leadership Role

The U.S. wants to double the amount of international forces fighting gangs in Haiti and remove Kenya from its leading role, an official said at the Organization of American States.

Concretely, U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Kimberly J. Penland said the Trump administration is drafting a resolution to present before the UN Security Council that will "properly resource" the Caribbean country's struggling push to retake control. It also endorses one by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to provide support using peacekeeping money.

"Should the UN Security Council pursue this model, then we will also seek robust regional participation to provide strategic leadership of the force," Penland added.

The proposal was introduced in the context of a broader plan envisioning a three-year, $2.6 billion roadmap for Haiti's future. It calls for over $1.3 billion to rebuild Haiti's national police, reform the justice system and dismantle gangs.

Haiti's embattled transitional government has resorted to non-state actors to fight back against gangs that control most of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Reuters reported last week American private security executive Erik Prince is expected to deploy hundreds of mercenaries to fight in the country soon.

The outlet detailed last Thursday that Prince's company, Vectus Global, will intensify operations in the besieged country in the next weeks in coordination with local police, deploying several hundred fighters from the U.S., Europe and El Salvador.

Prince told the outlet that he expects to regain control of the country's roads and territories within a year. "One key measure of success for me will be when you can drive from Port-au-Prince to Cap Haitian in a thin-skinned vehicle and not be stopped by gangs," he said in a passage of the interview.

Prince began getting involved earlier this year, with The Washington Post reporting in April about an effort to deploy explosive-laden drones to fight gangs. InSight Crime added that the attacks began as gangs were seeking to advance towards the offices of the Prime Minister and the Transitional Presidential Council. Other neighborhoods under their control have then come under fire as well.