US official: No plans to send troops to Haiti after government request

Senior officials will be deployed to Haiti to assist the government's investigation.

The U.S. will not be sending troops to Haiti, according to a senior administration official, after the Caribbean nation's government requested help to stabilize the country and secure critical infrastructure like oil reserves and its port and airport in the wake of the assassination of its president earlier this week. The U.S. has agreed to send senior officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to Haiti to assist the government's investigation of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, the White House announced Friday. The deployment of U.S. forces would have marked a major escalation of U.S. involvement. "There are currently no plans to send U.S. military assistance to Haiti," the official said.