Kenya deployed hundreds of additional police officers to replace those who completed their mission in Haiti on Monday, aiming to keep pressure on the island’s gangs as the country’s political and security crisis continues.
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Gangs have long plagued Haiti, causing conflict and instability that has only gotten worse since early 2024, when they forced then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.
The United Nations estimates that armed groups control 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where killings, rapes, looting and kidnappings are common amid chronic political instability.
To assist the Haitian police, the UN Security Council approved, in 2023, a multinational security mission led by Kenya. However, the team, made up of only 1,000 agents out of the 2,500 expected and insufficiently funded, was unable to meet this enormous challenge.
On Monday, 230 Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti, while around a hundred others completed their mission, a Haitian government source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
In late September, the United Nations Security Council approved the deployment of a more robust anti-gang force.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has not held elections in nine years and is currently under a transitional government. Legislative and presidential elections are planned for the summer of 2026.
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