Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently met with Haiti Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) President Fritz Alphonse Jean during his visit to Kingston, Jamaica, where he is meeting with leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Secretary of State Rubio’s meeting with TPC President Jean comes in the midst of the Haitian government’s failure to successfully combat gangs that have seized control of large parts of Haiti.
Haiti has been periodically rocked by widespread gang violence in recent years, but gang violence has reached unprecedented levels in recent months.
The latest estimates approximate that Haitian gangs control around 85% of Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital.
Some analysts are foreshadowing that the capital could be completely overrun by gangs in the coming weeks.
Haiti’s government’s struggles to ensure peace and stability have been so futile as to force former Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign and be replaced by Jean after a Presidential transition council selected him.
Rubio’s meeting with Jean focused on Haiti’s security problems, with the former emphasizing the need for Haitian intra-government coordination to combat gang violence.
“The United States condemns the ongoing gang violence in Haiti,” said Rubio. “Grateful for the bravery of the Haitian National Police and international personnel for working to stabilize Haiti.”
Jean echoed Rubio’s comments, underscoring that “regional cooperation is essential to restoring peace.”
Democrats and Republicans have previously clashed over how the US should help Haiti regain control of its territory.
Democrats under former President Joe Biden’s leadership opted for an indirect approach, supplying the Haitian government with aid and brokering an international agreement to secure the support of a few hundred Kenyan security forces to aid in the fighting.
Some Republicans, such as Representative Maria-Elvira Salazar (R-FL), have conversely called for direct US action.
“America must lead a coalition force with our Latin American allies to end the crisis before it spreads to the rest of the hemisphere,” said Representative Salazar last March.
As the Haitian security crisis worsens, it remains to be seen what approach President Donald Trump will take.
