The Biden administration will not send U.S. troops to Haiti to help its national police respond to a rapidly evolving security crisis, as a united front of gang leaders has led attacks on the country’s main seaport, airports and prisons, a White House official told McClatchy.
Their decision comes after a frantic 72 hours of communication between U.S. and Haitian diplomatic officials raised the prospect of an emergency deployment of U.S. special forces to respond to the crisis, fearing that a long-planned international security mission, to be led by Kenya, would not be ready to deploy in time to respond.
“The United States is not sending U.S. troops to Haiti to support the Haitian national police’s security operations,” a National Security Council official said. “We are urgently mobilizing all support we and the international community can immediately provide Haiti, especially to the Haitian national police, to ensure they are able to restore security for the sake of the people.”
Gangs that had previously worked apart have recently united to challenge what remaining control the Haitian government, led by Prime Minister Ariel Henry, has over the country and its capital.
On Monday, security forces engaged in an hourslong gun battle with gang members attempting to take over the international airport in Port-au-Prince, after gangs successfully orchestrated major prison breaks two days prior and laid siege to the country’s…
