US Ambassador to UN Proposes Military Intervention in Haiti

At the UN on Monday, the US and Mexico said they are preparing a resolution to authorize military intervention in Haiti to help the government deal with protesters and armed groups that are calling for Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the announcement at an emergency Security Council meeting over the situation in Haiti, confirming reports that the US favored sending a “multinational rapid action force” to the country.

According to The Associated Press, Thomas-Greenfield said that the proposed deployment would be a “non-UN” mission led by a partner country that was not named and would have the mandate to use military force if necessary.

She said the resolution is a response to the Henry government’s request for international assistance. Also on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “armed action” in Haiti.

An armed group known as G9 Family and Allies has blockaded a key fuel terminal in Port-au-Prince and is calling for the resignation of Henry. The group is led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, who the US reportedly named in a draft UN resolution calling for intervention.

“I believe that we need not only to strengthen the [Haitian] police – strengthening it with training, with equipment, with a number of other measures – but that in the present circumstances, we need an armed action to release the port and to allow for a humanitarian corridor to be established,” Guterres said.

The protests in Haiti were sparked by the government’s announcement in September that it would stop subsidizing fuel. Henry has led the country since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Moïse was gunned down in his home by a group of mostly Colombian mercenaries, some of whom were former members of Colombia’s military and had been previously trained by the Pentagon. But who ordered the killing has not been solved as the investigation has been stalled.