US will contribute $300 million to Haiti’s multinational security mission

The United States will contribute $300 million to the Kenyan-led multinational security mission to Haiti, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, as the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate.

The United States will contribute $300 million to the Kenyan-led multinational security mission to Haiti, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, as the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. “I’m announcing today that the United States Department of Defense is doubling its approved support for the mission from $100 million to $200 million. And that brings the total US support to $300 million for this effort,” Blinken said at the conclusion of a meeting of Caribbean states (CARICOM) in the Jamaican capital of Kingston. It remains unclear when the security mission will be deployed. Kenya’s Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said earlier Monday that Kenyan troops are currently in the “pre-deployment” stage. It comes as a US worldwide threat assessment found that “gangs will be more likely to violently resist a foreign national force deployment to Haiti because they perceive it to be a shared threat to their control and operations.” The assessment underscored the challenge likely in store for the multinational security support mission. US officials have called for the acceleration of such a force to help stabilize the volatile situation on the ground, which has seen Haiti enter a state of emergency after its capital of Port-au-Prince plunged into violence amid highly coordinated gang attacks. One gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, has described it as an attempt to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s government. Cherizier has warned of “a civil war that will end in genocide” if the deeply unpopular leader does not step down.