The Miami Herald reported yesterday that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has deployed an elite disaster response team to Haiti “as insecurity, gang violence and the humanitarian situation worsen.” in all the country.
The Disaster Response Team, also known as DART, “assesses needs and works closely with the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince, humanitarian partners, and the people of Haiti to determine how to provide assistance to the most vulnerable.” an agency official told the media.
Haiti remains trapped in an unprecedented crisis that has worsened with the blockade of the Varreux Terminal by armed gangs and the resurgence of cholera.
Earlier this week, the Joe Biden administration announced that it had placed ‘visa restrictions on those involved in gang activity’ and sent a major US Coast Guard vessel to patrol the coast off the Haitian capital.
The United States also plans to pass a resolution Monday at the United Nations Security Council that would establish a mechanism to impose international sanctions on gang leaders.
But with violence and disease worsening across the country, the Haitian government is calling for more, including an international rapid reaction force capable of unlocking the Terminal. The UN Secretary General has called for international intervention to establish a humanitarian corridor. But, so far, no country has been interested in sending military forces.
“In addition to mobilizing DART, the United States continues to closely monitor the situation in Haiti and is working with international partners to determine needs and provide additional assistance,” the State Department official said.
“The American people have a proud and generous history of helping in times of crisis. USAID remains committed to helping the people of Haiti during this difficult time,” she added.
The US does not rule out sending forces
A cable from the EFE agency indicates that the United States is evaluating the Haitian government’s request for foreign troops to be sent to deal with the serious crisis the country is experiencing, the White House and the State Department said Thursday.
The spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby, pointed out in a call with journalists that Washington is studying the request of the Executive of the Haitian Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, “in coordination with his foreign partners” and that at the moment he has no announcement that do regarding it.
In the meantime, he said the US is focused on determining “who can be held accountable for the violence” and increasing its support to address fuel shortages in Haiti.
Kirby recalled that the security situation is altering the flow of humanitarian aid, one of whose objectives is to stop the cholera outbreak. In this sense, he stressed that the highest priority of the US in Haiti is that humanitarian aid, “which is absolutely crucial and vital”, reaches the largest number of Haitians who need it.
talking to partners
Asked if the United States will send troops to the country, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, avoided offering a categorical answer and explained that he is “talking” with several countries on this matter.
“We have to see what steps need to be taken to support dand effectively to the Haitian National Police and if there are other things that the international community can do to help Haiti ensure its security for itself,” he said.
The UN delegate speaks here
The resident coordinator and representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations Organization (UN) in the Dominican Republic, Mauricio Ramírez Villegas, hopes that the Security Council will soon be able to issue a resolution with measures to help Haiti, but without falling into mistakes of the past.
learn more
Hundreds enter through Dajabón
Entrance and check.
This last Friday, long lines of Haitians were formed entering through the Dajabón border. As they pass, they are checked by Immigration personnel and monitored by the Specialized Border Security Corps (Cesfront).
These Haitians who enter the municipality daily are those who go to work in the agricultural area and the construction area, and the women who work in domestic service and those who sell products in the streets of the community.
The check is for Migration to have control of the people who enter the territory and who return to their country in the followingnoon.
The return is less massive, because they do it individually. Meanwhile, close surveillance of the military force is maintained.
