Jamaica summit presses Haiti political transition as US vows $133M in aid

United States would contribute an additional $100 million to a UN-backed multinational security force intended to help Haitian police fight gangs, as well as $33 million in humanitarian aid, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

This brings the United States' proposed contribution to the force to $300 million. As of Monday, less than $11 million had been deposited into the UN's dedicated trust fund.

Escalating violence "creates an untenable situation for the Haitian people, and we all know that urgent action is needed on both the political and security tracks," Blinken said on Monday after Caribbean leaders in Jamaica met in an urgent push to solve the spiralling crisis in Haiti as pressure grows on Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign or agree to a transitional council.

Leaders of the bloc, as well as envoys from the United States, France, Canada, and the United Nations, attended the meeting that did not include Henry, who has been locked out of his own country while travelling abroad due to surging unrest and violence by criminal gangs who have overrun much of Haiti's capital and closed down its main international airports.

Henry remained in Puerto Rico and was taking steps to return to Haiti once feasible, according to a brief statement from the US territory's Department of State.

While leaders met behind closed doors, Jimmy Cherizier — also called Barbecue — considered Haiti's most powerful gang leader, told reporters that if the international community continues down the current road, "it will plunge Haiti into further chaos."

"We Haitians have to decide who is going to be the head of the country and what model of government we want," said Cherizier, a former elite police officer leader of a gang federation known as G9 Family and Allies.

"We are also going to figure out how to get Haiti out of the misery it's in now."

The meeting in Jamaica was organised by members of a regional trade bloc known as Caricom, which for months has pressed for a transitional government in Haiti while protests in the country have demanded Henry's resignation.

"It is clear that Haiti is now at a tipping point," said Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who invited leaders to the talks in Kingston.

Warning that Haiti could devolve into a full-out civil war, he urged "strong and decisive action" to "stem the sea of lawlessness and hopelessness before it is too late."

'Haitian-owned solution'

Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the current CARICOM chair, said: "I'm very optimistic based on all the discussions today."

"I'm very confident that we have found commonality, and we have found a common path, through which we can support a Haitian-led solution and Haitian-owned solution," Ali said.

He appealed for all Haitians to accept a solution and "come together for the greater good."

Meanwhile, the AFP news agency reporters saw bodies lying in Port-au-Prince streets, and some 362,000 Haitians have been displaced from their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Armed groups, which already control much of Port-au-Prince, as well as roads leading to the rest of the country, have unleashed havoc in recent days as they try to oust Prime Minister Henry.

In power since the 2021 assassination of president Jovenel Moise, Henry had been visiting Kenya, in search of support for a UN-backed security assistance mission, when the latest burst of violence broke out.

Diplomats flee

The European Union said Monday all of its diplomatic personnel had been evacuated from Haiti, a day after the United States announced it had airlifted non-essential US staff from its embassy.

The German Foreign Ministry meanwhile said its ambassador had departed on Sunday for the Dominican Republic "due to the very tense security situation."

United Nations staff are remaining in Haiti "to do everything they can to deliver assistance to people in need, despite the risks for their own safety," the UN secretary-general's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Police late on Friday repelled gang attacks, including on the presidential palace, while several "bandits" were killed, said Lionel Lazarre of the Haitian police union.

The well-armed gangs recently have attacked key infrastructure, including two prisons, allowing most of the 3,800 inmates to escape.

Along with some ordinary Haitians, the gangs are seeking the resignation of Henry, who was due to leave office in February but instead agreed to a power-sharing deal with the opposition until new elections are held.

Washington asked Henry to enact urgent political reforms but stopped short of calling for his immediate resignation.

Meaningful negotiations

The UN Security Council gave its green light in October for a multinational policing mission led by Kenya, but Kenyan courts have stalled that deployment.

The council reiterated its support for the mission on Monday, while calling in a statement for all Haitian stakeholders to "engage constructively in meaningful negotiations" toward fresh elections.

Port-au-Prince and the surrounding region is under a month-long state of emergency, while a nighttime curfew is in effect until Monday, though it is unlikely overstretched police can enforce it.

Haiti's airport remained closed, and the main port—key for food imports—reported looting and suspended services Thursday.

Security forces have since regained control of the port and boats have been able to offload some cargo, National Port Authority director Jocelin Villier said.

However, he warned that moving the supplies out of the port remained a challenge due to security issues on the surrounding roads.