SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� Jamaica鈥檚 prime minister said his government is willing to send soldiers and police officers to Haiti as part of a proposed multinational security assistance deployment.
The announcement comes a week after U.N. special envoy for Haiti Helen La Lime said she hoped that the U.N. Security Council would deal 鈥減ositively鈥� with the pending request from Haiti鈥檚 government for international armed forces despite .
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the island鈥檚 House of Representatives on Tuesday that he wants to help Haiti and 鈥渟upport a return to a reasonable level of stability and peace, which would be necessary for any inclusive, democratic process to take root.鈥�
The announcement appears to mark the first time that a nation in the Western Hemisphere publicly offers boots on the ground after Haiti鈥檚 prime minister and other top officials requested the immediate deployment of foreign troops in early October amid a crippling fuel siege blamed on the country鈥檚 most powerful gang.
U.N. Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres and La Lime have backed Haiti's plea to no avail.
the request but taken no action, opting instead to issue sanctions on people including Jimmy Ch茅rizier, a dominant gang leader and former police officer blamed for masterminding multiple massacres.
鈥淚t is our impression that the international community has not yet taken stock of the urgency of the situation that the Haitian people are facing,鈥� L茅on Charles, former chief of Haiti鈥檚 National Police, said Wednesday during an Organization of American States meeting.
鈥淢y country is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its history,鈥� said Charles, who is Haiti鈥檚 permanent representative to the OAS.
He likened the aid that Haiti has received so far from the international community to buckets of water to help put out a raging fire when what the country needs is firetrucks equipped with heavy-duty hoses.
Meanwhile, Holness said Jamaica is ready to offer bilateral support if needed.
鈥淚t is our real hope that Haiti will soon overcome her challenges and embark on a path toward restoration of stability, long-lasting peace and sustainable development for her land and people with the full backing of the international community,鈥� he said.
A U.N. spokesman said the organization has not seen any formal offers, but that countries can make offers directly to those leading the effort to establish a force.
Jamaica is a member of a regional trade bloc known as Caricom, which last week issued a statement urging 鈥渁ll stakeholders to come together in their search for a consensus agreement鈥� to resolve what it called a protracted political stalemate in Haiti, adding that it was prepared to hold a meeting in the Caribbean to talk about the issue.
Haiti was stripped of all democratically elected institutions when the terms of the remaining 10 senators expired in early January. Prime Minister Ariel Henry has promised to hold general elections for more than a year, but a provisional electoral council has yet to be chosen, which some critics say has led to a de-facto dictatorship.
Haiti also has been struggling with levels of violence not seen in decades ever since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Mo茂se at his private home, w
The number of reported kidnappings soared to 1,359 last year, double compared with the previous year, and reported killings have spike by a third to 2,183, according to the U.N.
鈥淭hese are truly chilling figures,鈥� Charles said. 鈥淭he situation in Haiti is extremely urgent.鈥�
Haiti鈥檚 National Police has fewer than 9,000 active police officers for a country of more than 11 million people who not only face a spike in violence but also deepening poverty, widespread hunger and a deadly cholera outbreak.
