Haiti Report, February 11, 2025
A compilation of news about Haiti from the past week or so.
Additional Kenyan police join Haiti security mission
A third contingent of Kenyan police arrived Thursday, February 6, in Haiti to help repel violent gangs as officials brushed off concerns of a halt in some U.S. funding to the U.N.-backed mission. The 200 police officers from the East African country join more than 600 other Kenyans already working alongside Haiti’s National Police as part of a multinational force boosted by soldiers and police deployed by countries including Jamaica, Guatemala and El Salvador.
The latest deployment of Kenyan police comes two days after the U.S. notified the United Nations that it was freezing $13.3 million slated for the mission as part of a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Godfrey Otunge, the mission’s force commander, said in a statement Wednesday that the amount frozen represents less than 3% of ongoing assistance to the mission. “I want to assure everyone, especially the people of Haiti, that the mission remains on track,” he said. He noted that the U.S. and other partner countries are still providing logistical, financial and equipment support, with support flights arriving almost daily.
William O’Neill, U.N. designated expert on Haiti, said Thursday that the mission plays a crucial role in helping local officers establish security. “The Haitian National Police are outnumbered and outgunned by the gangs,” he said. “Steady and predictable funding for the (mission) requires all states to contribute, especially those in the region. More stability in Haiti will reduce the pressure to migrate, which is in everyone’s interest.”
As he visits the Dominican Republic on the final stop of his five-day overseas mission to the region, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sending strong assurances that the Trump administration is not shutting down the United Nations-authorized and heavily U.S.-financed multinational armed force trying to help neighboring Haiti root out deadly armed gangs.
On Thursday, Rubio called Kenyan President William Ruto to thank him for the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti, which remains fully operational, a State Department spokesperson said. As the two leaders spoke, a new contingent of 144 Kenyan police officers including 24 women was en route to Port-au-Prince from Nairobi aboard a charter Kenya Airways flight to beef up the struggling mission, which also received a contingent of 70 military soldiers from El Salvador on Tuesday. The Kenyans arrival at Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Aircraft coincided with that of three large helicopters from El Salvador so that the Central American contingent can conduct medical and casualty evacuations of mission personnel.
While still less than 2,500 security personnel, the new deployments add significant muscle to the mission, whose small footprint and lack of equipment, such as helicopters, have made it difficult to take down powerful gangs and hold ground after carrying out joint operations with the Haiti National Police. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article299847214.html#storylink=cpy
Canada and UNODC Provide Vehicles to the Haitian National Police
No fewer than 73 vehicles, including 54 automobiles, were delivered to the Haitian National Police (PNH) this Thursday, February 6, by Canada and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). A handover ceremony was organized for this purpose, according to a statement released by the police. "The Embassy of Canada in Haiti, during an official ceremony held at the General Directorate of the Haitian National Police (DGPNH), handed over a batch of vehicles to the police institution this Thursday, February 6, 2025. This donation of rolling stock is part of the cooperation between the Embassy of Canada in Haiti and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Out of a total of 59 Toyota Land Cruiser all-terrain vehicles promised to the police institution, 42 were delivered today," the statement reads.
Furthermore, the police highlighted that this ceremony was also an opportunity for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to deliver 31 vehicles to the PNH, including 12 Toyota Land Cruiser pickup trucks and motorcycles. "As for the 42 vehicles handed over by the Embassy of Canada and UNOPS, they will strengthen the operational capacity of the Directorate of Penitentiary Administration (DAP), while the 31 others delivered by the UNODC are intended to reinforce the Land Border Police (POLIFRONT)," the statement specifies.
"In the presence of the acting Director General of the Haitian National Police (PNH), Rameau Normil, and the Ambassador of Canada to Haiti, André François Giroux, the keys to these vehicles were handed over to the PNH logistics department. It should be noted that the Ambassador of Canada to Haiti, André François Giroux, was accompanied by a team that included, among others, the Second Secretary of the Embassy of Canada in Haiti, Pierre-Luc Saindon, and the Director of UNOPS in Haiti, Dabagai Dabagai. The Head of the UNODC office in Haiti, Juan Marquez, also took part in this ceremony," the statement concluded.
Haiti: US freezes funding for multinational police mission
The United States has asked the United Nations to immediately freeze its contribution to the fund intended to finance the multinational mission responsible for helping the Haitian police against gangs, a UN spokesperson announced on Tuesday, February 4. "We have received an official notification from the United States of immediate suspension" of 13.3 million dollars already paid into this fund, specified Stéphane Dujarric, while the mission led by Kenya is already facing a lack of funding. https://www.rfi.fr/fr/en-bref/20250204-ha%C3%AFti-les-%C3%A9tats-unis-g%C3%A8lent-leur-financement-de-la-mission-multinationale-de-police
The U.S. has notified the United Nations that it is freezing funding to a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti tasked with fighting gangs, the U.N. said Tuesday. The U.S. has been the biggest contributor to the mission led by Kenyan police, which was launched last year and is struggling with a lack of funding and personnel. The halt will have an “immediate impact” on the mission, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The United States had committed $15 million to the trust fund that finances the multinational force, he said. With $1.7 million of that already spent, “$13.3 million is now frozen,” Dujarric said. The move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump imposes a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance, leading to thousands of U.S. aid agency employees and contractors being laid off and programs worldwide shut down.
The halt in funding appeared to take officials leading the Kenyan mission by surprise. When asked for comment, mission spokesman Jack Mbaka declined to give any immediate reaction. The announcement was made just hours after a military contingent of 70 soldiers from El Salvador arrived in Haiti, joining more than 600 Kenyan police officers already on the ground backed by police and soldiers from other countries including Jamaica and Guatemala. It’s unclear what impact the halt in U.S. funding for the mission might have on efforts to transform it into a U.N.-peacekeeping mission. The halt in funding comes amid a relentless attack by hundreds of gang members in an upscale neighborhood in the capital of Port-au-Prince that began more than a week ago and has left at least 40 dead. https://apnews.com/article/haiti-un-us-halt-aid-trump-e32763c0446b268b421f3b409c4dc147?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share
As hundreds of armed gang members, entrenched in the hills above Haiti’s capital, await orders to attack the last enclaves not currently under their control, the multinational fight to end their terror is being impeded by the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid. The administration’s 90-day halt of foreign assistance has frozen a $15 million contribution to the United Nations-controlled Trust Fund for the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti, the global agency confirmed to the Miami Herald on Tuesday. The fund was set up at the insistence of the U.S. to give donors a way to contribute to the mission, which eight months after its deployment remains underfunded, ill-equipped and with just over a third of the 2,500 security personnel it was slated to have.
U.N. spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay told the Herald that on Jan. 28 the agency was was notified by the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs about the $15 million the U.S. had contributed to the fund, which had amassed $110. 8 million in deposits for training, salaries and others expenses. “The communication relayed an ‘immediate stop work order... pending further notice,” she said. The U.N. had already spent $1.7 million of the $15 million, Tremblay said. The new battlefront being opened by armed groups, for example, along the last remaining access route between the capital and the southern regions of Haiti brings gangs closer to the upscale communities of Pétion-Ville, Fermanthe and Kenscoff — all of which, until now, had managed to stay out of the gangs’ grips.
Aware that gangs are preparing a large-scale offensive in hopes of taking over the enclaves, diplomats have been trying to get local authorities to come up with a plan and deploy what little resources they have. “It is probably the worst timing ever and unfortunately the gangs know it,” said Romain Le Cour, a senior expert at the Switzerland-based Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.
Haiti’s gangs, he said, are using the funding freeze and lack of attention by the U.S. to take advantage in the run-up to three important dates: Feb. 7, historically the day that a new president usually takes office, is always a tense political moment; Feb. 29, which will mark the one-year anniversary since the official public creation of the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition, and March 7, the date that Leslie Voltaire, the current head of the Transitional Presidential Council, is expected to pass the baton to Fritz Alphonse Jean in the rotating presidency. “We’re in for a very, very tense and crucial month. The problem of Haiti will not go away if the U.S. stops looking for funding. It’s only going to get worse,” said Le Cour. “Right now abandoning the ship is just going to push it into the arms of the gangs. “
U.S. Statement on Support to MSS
The United States has not paused all assistance for the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti. On the contrary, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio approved waivers to allow for millions of dollars in mission critical assistance to the MSS mission and Haitian National Police (HNP). The Department of State approved waivers for $40.7 million in foreign assistance to benefit the HNP and MSS mission. This includes logistical contracts to support forward operating bases, a vehicle maintenance contract to support the MSS mission fleet, a medical services contract for the HNP, and transportation services for Department of State provided equipment deliveries, and contracts that support subject matter experts with the HNP.
As recently as yesterday (February 4), the United States delivered much-needed heavy armored equipment to the MSS mission and HNP in Port-au-Prince. The UN Secretary General announced that implementation of the remaining $13.3 million funds provided by the United States to the UN Trust Fund have been paused. The $15 million provided in total to the Trust Fund represents less than 3% of the total funds that the United States is providing directly to support the MSS mission. https://x.com/USEmbassyHaiti/status/1887295118656610766
DR President Abinader says Haiti endangers the region
"We agree that there is no time to lose, Mr. Secretary. The Haitian situation is a threat to the security of the entire region, including that of the United States," said Dominican President Luis Abinader during a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Santo Domingo on Thursday, February 6, 2025. "Every passing day is a day of fire and blood. Haiti is drowning while a significant part of the international community passively watches the situation without demonstrating the level of commitment that the severity of the crisis demands. We both know that we cannot shy away from our responsibility to be firmly determined. Given the situation in Haiti, U.S. leadership is essential, and there is no substitute," emphasized the Dominican president.
President Luis Abinader maintained that "the situation requires a coordinated and strong response from the entire international community." "We have reiterated that there is no Dominican solution to the Haitian crisis," he insisted. "That is why we have stressed the urgency of increased financial support for the multilateral initiative led by Kenya, with the goal of expanding its operational capacity and ensuring effective actions. We have also highlighted the importance of restoring humanitarian aid to prevent a worsening of the crisis and a potential uncontrollable migration wave that would affect both the Dominican Republic and the United States," Abinader continued, summarizing his meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/253067/haitis-situation-endangers-the-region-says-luis-abinader
Haitian migrants share harrowing stories of abuse as Dominican Republic ramps up deportations
A crowd of 500 descended from dusty trucks on a recent morning and shuffled through a tiny gap in a border gate separating Haiti from the Dominican Republic. They were the first deportees of the day, some still clad in work clothes and others barefoot as they lined up for food, water and medical care in the Haitian border city of Belladère before mulling their next move.
Under a broiling sun, the migrants recounted what they said were mounting abuses by Dominican officials after President Luis Abinader ordered them in October to start deporting at least 10,000 immigrants a week under a harsh new policy widely criticized by civil organizations. “They broke down my door at 4 in the morning,” said Odelyn St. Fleur, who had worked as a mason in the Dominican Republic for two decades. He had been sleeping next to his wife and 7-year-old son. The number of alleged human rights violations ranging from unauthorized home raids to racial profiling to deporting breastfeeding mothers and unaccompanied minors is surging as officials ramp up deportations to Haiti. More than a quarter million people were deported last year, and more than 31,200 in January alone.
“The situation has reached a critical point,” said Roudy Joseph, an activist who accused officials of ignoring due process during arrests. “Every day, children are left abandoned at schools.” Despite the crackdown, many re-enter the Dominican Republic, exposing a broken system. That afternoon marked the second time Jimmy Milien, a 32-year-old floor installer, was deported. He was arrested in the capital, Santo Domingo, in 2024 and again in mid-January when authorities boarded a public bus and pointed at him. “Damn devil Haitian, get off,” he recalled them saying before they even asked for documents. He left behind his wife and two children, ages 3 and 12, and doesn’t know when he’ll see them again. He was planning to travel to Haiti’s capital, but like thousands of others dropped off in Belladère, he would have to cross through gang territory where gunmen open fire on public transport.
Arrival of the first deportees under the Trump administration
The first group of Haitian migrants deported from the United States arrived back in the Caribbean nation on Tuesday, February 4. The group arrived by plane at the Cap-Haitien airport on the north coast of Haiti, the only airport still open for traffic in the country. Mario Montès said he had been in the U.S. for almost a year. He said he worked in Alaska but was detained by Immigration and Custom Enforcement officials in Miami. "I was on the way to work and they (immigration officers) asked if I could come to see them because there is a new president and there were some papers we had to apply for again," he said. "I went to their office. I saw the handcuffs and they just told me they were going to send me to my country," he added
The deportations are part of a series of executive orders signed by U.S. President Donald Trump following his return to the White House last month. In the first week of his second term, the Department of Homeland Security reported deporting some 7,300 people of various nationalities.
Coast Guard stops sailboat carrying over 100 Haitian migrants near the Florida Keys
The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted an overloaded migrant boat carrying more than 130 people from Haiti, including small children, near the Florida Keys last week. The sailboat was traveling between Cuba and Cay Sal Bank in the Bahamas, about 50 miles southeast of the Middle Keys city of Marathon, when it was spotted last Tuesday by a Coast Guard airplane crew and a Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations crew, according to a Coast Guard statement. Photos released by the Coast Guard showed crew members caring for small children and infants. There were a total of 132 people on the sailboat, the Coast Guard said.
“The Coast Guard will continue to prioritize strengthening our domestic integrity and disrupting attempts to enter the United States illegally by sea,” Lt. Zane Carter, a Coast Guard District Seven enforcement officer, said in a statement. “We are steadfast in our mission to safeguard America by securing our maritime borders.” The interdiction comes about two weeks after the Coast Guard announced it was surging personnel and assets to South Florida to comply with the Trump administration’s orders to use the military to secure the U.S. border. On Monday, the people were returned to Haiti on board the Coast Guard cutter Escanaba.
The Coast Guard said it has returned 313 people to Haiti who were stopped at sea since Oct. 1. In all of fiscal year 2024, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, the total number of Haitians intercepted at sea was 857, according to the Coast Guard.
Haitian Immigrants Face Uncertainty in Trump’s America
Recent immigrants like Anderson are quietly living their lives—working, learning to navigate public transportation, taking English classes, applying for asylum, and raising children—as ominous political currents threaten the futures they are trying to build. Trump and Vance campaigned on a promise to carry out mass deportations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Within minutes of taking office, Trump eliminated CBP One, a smartphone app that allowed people to enter the United States legally through a port of entry, immediately cancelling tens of thousands of scheduled appointments and stranding an estimated 270,000 people at the Mexican border who were waiting to get appointments. That same day, the President signed a number of other executive orders targeting immigrants, including measures to eliminate birthright citizenship, halt refugee resettlement, expand expedited removal, and eliminate the humanitarian parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV).
These are the stories of most CHNV recipients: people who want physical safety for their families, and who are eager to work, even if the jobs don’t reflect their skills or education level. But Republicans have cast aspersions on the program, with the House Judiciary Committee calling it “a fraud-ridden, unmitigated disaster.” In August 2024, the Biden Administration temporarily paused the CHNV parole program after an internal investigation revealed “possible fraud” on the part of the sponsors, including “multiple applications from a single sponsor.” But the CHNV program allowed sponsors to support multiple applicants—and required a separate application for each person, even if they were all from the same family. There is no evidence that anyone successfully entered the United States via a fraudulent application. https://progressive.org/latest/haitian-immigrants-face-uncertainty-in-trumps-america-wagner-20250205/
At least 1,732 killed and 1,494 kidnapped in last quarter of 2024
"Between October 1 and December 31, 2024, according to BINUH data, at least 1,732 people were killed and 411 injured in the context of gang violence, self-defense groups, and police operations," the report states. In total, according to BINUH, nearly 5,626 people were killed and 2,213 injured throughout 2024. The report also records 1,494 kidnappings for ransom by gangs, including 431 between October and December 2024. According to the BINUH report, 771 of those killed or injured during this period were victims of law enforcement operations against gangs. "Thirty-eight percent were residents who were often hit by stray bullets in the streets or inside their homes," the report reveals.
Among the victims, BINUH also mentions at least 80 summary executions allegedly committed by police officers in the fourth quarter of 2024. The total number of summary executions in Haiti in 2024 now stands at 281. "The victims include individuals accused of being affiliated with gangs, as well as motorcycle taxi drivers and street vendors who were unable to provide identification or justify their presence in certain neighborhoods at the time of their arrest," BINUH reports. BINUH notes that the General Inspectorate of the Haitian National Police (IGPNH) "has taken virtually no action" to identify police officers allegedly involved in these summary executions. It also notes that since the vetting process within the Haitian National Police in 2023, "no officer has undergone a thorough background investigation."
In the third quarter of 2024, 1,223 people were killed, and 170 were kidnapped for ransom. According to BINUH, the increase in killings in the last quarter is explained by three massacres carried out during this period in Pont Sondé and Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, in the Artibonite department, and in Wharf Jérémie, in the West department. More than 300 people were murdered in these three massacres.
Treatment for HIV, AIDS in Haiti hit by U.S. foreign aid halt
This week, following the Trump administration’s sweeping 90-day freeze on U.S. foreign assistance, doctors at GHESKIO launched another spot. This one informed its HIV/AIDS patients that the U.S.-funded President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program, commonly known as PEPFAR, has been temporarily suspended. “This sudden decision affects all PEPFAR medical clinics in Haiti and abroad,” the spot says. Two weeks after President Donald Trump’s executive order freezing almost all U.S. foreign aid, foreign governments and PEPFAR-funded organizations dependent on U.S. generosity are still feeling the effects of stop-work orders and a subsequent gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the sprawling bureaucracy charged with delivering humanitarian assistance around the world.
The confusion and blockage has persisted despite the insistence by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he has issued “blanket waivers” for “core life-saving medicines” and other emergency humanitarian assistance because “we don’t want to see anybody die, or have anybody be harmed in the short term.” In Haiti, where the U.S. has been the single largest aid donor, the fallout hasn’t been that extreme, though some health centers have already laid off staffers running their HIV programs, the head of a non-profit told the Miami Herald. According to figures from the Ministry of Public Health, there are 125,000 patients in the country receiving antiretroviral treatment through both the PEPFAR program and the Global Fund, a different network that also provides HIV care.
Physicians learned this week that between both programs there are enough antiretroviral drugs in Haiti to cover the three months of the Trump administration’s freeze. However, the medications, along with others, are locked away in a building controlled by Chemonics, an organization financed by USAID that has lost access to the site because of the stop-work orders. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article299824009.html#storylink=cpy
Ongoing Attacks on Kenscoff
For more than a week, the commune of Kenscoff has been under attack by armed gangs. Due to the difficulty of accessing certain areas, it remains impossible to establish an accurate death toll or assess the extent of the destruction caused by the attacks. Speaking on Magik 9 on the morning of Monday, February 3, Massillon Jean, the mayor of Kenscoff, revealed that a register had been opened at the town hall to collect testimonies from relatives of victims. "We have heard many accounts. Some speak of entire families being assassinated. It is impossible to verify these claims, as certain areas remain inaccessible. We have opened a register at the town hall, and we will soon publish a partial report," said Mayor Massillon Jean.
When contacted by Le Nouvelliste, the Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) was also unable to provide an official death toll. "Armed gangs have continued to expand their influence in this area and its surroundings since the night of January 27. During this attack, reports indicate fatalities caused by gunfire and bladed weapons, houses burned, damaged, and looted, as well as multiple injuries. (...) So far, due to the complexity of the situation, the exact number and locations of displaced persons remain unclear. However, for those in shelters and host families, Civil Protection volunteers have counted 3,290 displaced persons," stated the DPC in a document shared with Le Nouvelliste.
In a statement sent to Le Nouvelliste, the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) estimated that at least fifty people had been killed. "Six members of the same family were murdered in Kafou Bèt. On the morning of Tuesday, January 28, 2024, gunfire struck five members of another family, whose bodies were later found in Krevitè. According to displaced individuals, corpses were visible along footpaths in several localities, including Bwa Majò, Kafou Bèt, and Mache Gode. The Fermathe hospital has received dozens of injured victims. In Kikwa, Pastor Lerys Chérius of the Union Fraternité Chrétienne Church was executed. In Kafou Bèt, a pastor known as Raymond was assassinated. Daniel Tissé, a deacon of the Baptist Conservatory Church, was killed by armed bandits, who then established a base within the church. In Berthe, twelve members of the Joseph family were executed. Several dozen houses were burned. On the night of January 28, 2024, gangs committed further atrocities in Bwa Majò, Ti Plas, and other areas,"the RNDDH report states. Meanwhile, Marie Yolène Gilles, director of the Je Klere Foundation (FJKL), reported that her organization had documented at least forty victims. "We have a report that will be published this week. So far, we have counted about forty people murdered. This remains a partial figure, as the area is still under attack and some localities remain inaccessible," said Gilles.
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252947/human-rights-groups-report-dozens-of-deaths-in-kenscoff
Armed gangs attacked again early this Monday, February 3, 2025, the town of Kenscoff (east of Port-au-Prince), more precisely in Godèt (a locality also called Gode ), in the Bélot area, despite the presence of law enforcement, a resident of Kenscoff told the AlterPresse/AlterRadio platform.
Houses, vehicles and motorcycles were reportedly set on fire again in Godèt , in these new attacks by armed gangs, he reports. Soldiers from the Haitian Armed Forces (Fadh) are trying to push back the bandits in this area.
From Monday, January 27 to February 3, 2025, more than a hundred displaced people took refuge in the courtyard of Kenscoff town hall, located in the city center, where commercial and school activities remain paralyzed. These displaced people are receiving assistance from Civil Protection and the World Food Programme (WFP). The gangs have set up their criminal bases in 7 localities of Kenscoff, including Belot and Godèt , despite the operations carried out in this area by the Haitian National Police (Pnh). https://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article31388
Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) Reports on its activities in Kenscoff and Croix-des-Bouquets
On Saturday, February 8, 2025, residents of Kenscoff were surprised by an unannounced visit from TPC President Leslie Voltaire, PNH Director General Normil Rameau, and MSS Force Commander Godfrey Otunge. Their visit was a show of support for the joint security forces bravely combating gang violence in the commune. The team visited the local police station and town hall, reaffirming their commitment to restoring security and ending criminal activities in the area. Their message was clear: Haiti has endured insecurity for too long—order and safety will be restored in homes, streets, and communities.
Later that same day, HNP and MSS launched a muscular operation in Croix-des-Bouquets, targeting the stronghold of the 400 Mawozo gang, led by Lanmô San Jou. Security forces dismantled structures set up for an unauthorized carnival festival, sending a firm warning that gangs will not be allowed to operate freely under MSS/PNH watch. The joint operations continued on Sunday, February 9, 2025, in Tabarre where several Krazebarière gang members were arrested. Security forces seized 15 handguns and 12 communication radios from their base, striking a major blow against Vitèlôme’s criminal network, part of the ‘Vivansam’ gang alliance.
Sustaining the momentum, the fight against gangs received a major boost on Monday, February 10, 2025, when the U.S. State Department, through the INL, donated crucial equipment to the HNP. The donation included: 600 firearms, 9 Toyota and Ford vehicles, 2 trucks, 2 armored loaders, Other heavy equipment. The equipment handover ceremony was attended by several key figures, including TPC President Leslie Voltaire, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Dennis B. Hankins, PNH Director General Normil Rameau, MSS Force Commander Godfrey Otunge, and other senior security officials. This donation underscores the United States’ continued commitment to supporting both the HNP and MSS, enhancing their operational capacity to combat gangs and restore peace in Haiti.
https://x.com/MSSMHaiti/status/1889171564572422375
Students protest closed schools
It is 10:30 AM when tension begins to rise in the city of Jérémie. The reason is clear: students from public institutions are demanding the return of teachers to their classrooms. Deprived of classes since the beginning of the year due to the teachers' strike, these students have no choice but to take to the streets to appeal to the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP). They also take the opportunity to call for solidarity from private institutions.
At 11 AM, the protesters, mostly high school students, gather in front of the main entrance of the Jean Wesley College in Jérémie. Their strategy is to convince school officials to suspend classes and send students home in a show of solidarity with the movement. Minutes later, it becomes clear that the negotiations have failed. As a result, the school is pelted with stones and bottles from all directions. Law enforcement officers are forced to use tear gas to disperse the protesters. "As long as the teachers' strike continues, as long as public school students are deprived of classes, then private school students will not have peace of mind either," insists a young student in the midst of the protests, calling on parents and school directors to stand in solidarity with them to force the state to uphold their right to education.
Beyond Jean Wesley, students also violently targeted Saint-Louis College of Jérémie and the Institution Classique Les Mousquetaires (ICM). Once again, officers from the National Police had to use tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252939/teachers-strike-sparks-student-unrest-in-jeremie
Complaint Reporting Mechanism (CRM) for MSS Officially Launched
“I promise the people of Haiti and the international community the highest level of transparency and a firm commitment to upholding international human rights standards. I also reaffirm my dedication to fully implementing the CRM in collaboration with all relevant partners who contributed to its creation.” These were the words of Godfrey Otunge SAIG, the MSS Force Commander, during the official launch of the Complaint Reporting Mechanism (CRM) for MSS on February 5, 2025, at Hotel Karibe. Otunge reiterated that the CRM aims to address challenges encountered in past operations in Haiti. He assured that MSS will work closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other partners to investigate and resolve all cases of misconduct involving MSS officers. The Force Commander also expressed appreciation for all contributors, including members of civil society organizations.
A representative from the Ministry of Justice, Nesuy Ely, presided over the ceremony on behalf of the Prime Minister of Haiti. He commended all stakeholders involved in developing the CRM, recognizing the challenges of past interventions and emphasizing that MSS’s implementation of the CRM will play a crucial role in preventing previous mistakes. In her remarks, HCDH Resident Coordinator Ms. Ulrika Richardson emphasized that the CRM has established a strong framework to detect and prevent violations, ensuring the security of all Haitians. MSS Head of Community Engagement, SSP Adrian Hamilton, provided further assurances, stating that the CRM follows clearly defined standards for receiving, processing, and responding to reports of misconduct and grievances involving MSS officers, in line with the principles on which the system was built.
The launch follows a two-day training held last week that brought together various stakeholders. Also in attendance were representatives from civil society organizations, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives from the Haitian National Police (HNP), and members of the press. https://x.com/MSSMHaiti/status/1887356761989919195
Man sentenced to prison in drowning death of 11 Haitian girls and women in 2022
A Dominican man was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a human smuggling operation that authorities say led to the deaths of 11 migrants. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Fermín Montilla was captain of a boat carrying 48 people from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico when it capsized in May 2022 near an uninhabited island. The victims were 11 Haitian girls and women who were buried in Puerto Rico. https://apnews.com/article/puerto-rico-haitians-smuggling-dominican-republic-prison-55de208ca92da15d982d80053b3f75a5?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share
Minister of Tourism presents development plan for the North
On Friday evening, February 7, John Herrick Dessources, Minister of Tourism, ended his three-day mission to the North with a meeting with key players in the tourism industry at the Mont Joli Hotel. It was in an atmosphere marked by hope and collaboration that the Minister presented the grand vision of a structuring project aimed at revitalizing the tourist destination of the North. This project, described by the Minister as the starting point of a "historic transformation" is based on the development of a comprehensive development plan under collective leadership involving the State and the private sector. "This moment can be historic if we work together. It is the beginning of a real transformation process," he declared. The main axes of the roadmap of this new plan include several flagship projects :
Transformation or relocation of certain markets to open up the city;
Construction of two stations at the entrances to the city, accompanied by the transformation of existing terminals into tourist attraction areas;
A plan to relocate families living in areas at environmental risk, in collaboration with neighboring municipalities;
Implementation of a modern management system to protect and enhance historical heritage, including the Citadelle Laferrière and the Palais Sans Souci;
Construction of a marina and leisure areas to revitalize the coastal area of Cap-Haïtien;
Modernization of the Cap-Haïtien international airport and construction of a new airport in the Northeast;
Hotels, restaurants, and tourist circuits will be integrated into a global vision to increase the reception capacity and attractiveness of the region.
ANALYSIS
A closer look at the short- and long-term ramifications of freezing USAID
NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Jake Johnston, a Haiti aid expert, about what USAID support has meant to that country and what a funding halt could mean on All Things Considered. “I think the way you have to look at USAID is that, first, it's not monolithic. It's not one thing. And so there are parts of USAID that should justifiably be shut down, scrapped, greatly reformed. And there are also really critical things that USAID does today that is supporting lives, right? And so ending that overnight is going to have a deadly impact.”
Where does the money go? A look at USAID spending in Haiti, Jake Johnston at CEPR
“We’re shutting it down,” Elon Musk said over the weekend in reference to USAID, the country’s main aid agency, which oversees around $40 billion a year in spending and has been around since the early 1960s. Following two weeks of chaos across the aid industry after the new US administration ordered a 90-day freeze on nearly all foreign assistance, it appears the Trump administration is attempting to move forward with a plan to close the agency and merge its responsibilities with the State Department, though legal challenges are likely.
Speaking Monday afternoon, February 3, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he was serving as acting administrator for the aid agency. “This is not about ending USAID,” Rubio told the press, rather it was aimed at ensuring “everything they do has to be in alignment with the national interest and the foreign policy of the United States.” Few countries across the world are as dependent on US foreign assistance as Haiti. Last year, I published a book, Aid State, that details the long-term, damaging political ramifications of foreign assistance in Haiti; how aid circumvented the democratic process, eroded sovereignty, undermined local businesses and government, and served more as a benefit to US special interest groups than to the local population. Simply stopping all aid flows overnight, however, will have significant effects in Haiti. According to US officials, there will be a process for organizations providing humanitarian assistance to request waivers that would allow them to continue operating; but the freeze in spending amounted to a stop work order, halting ongoing programs in their tracks.
Since October 2023 (the beginning of FY2024), USAID has obligated $368 million in contracts and grants for activities in Haiti, according to an analysis of data from USASpending.gov.1 Many of these awards are for multiyear programs. Coming up with a total figure for the amount of funding impacted by the recent spending freeze is nearly impossible, as it affected monies that had already been disbursed to contractors or grantees. Nevertheless, at a bare minimum — and if no programs were to receive a waiver to continue — the freeze will halt some $330 million in outstanding commitments to ongoing programs.
Much of the debate around the recent Trump administration actions have treated aid as a monolithic thing; either as strictly life-saving and urgent humanitarian assistance, or as nothing more than imperial political interventionism. The reality is more mixed. But, moving USAID under the State Department, as now seems to be the most likely scenario, will only make foreign assistance more political. It is the US doubling down on all the worst parts of the industry.
Read more: https://cepr.net/publications/a-look-at-usaid-spending-in-haiti/