Biden: Marines Going to Haiti Embassy, But More Troops ‘Not on the Agenda’

Haiti asked the US to send troops after the assasination President Moise

On Thursday, President Biden said he was sending Marines to help secure the US embassy in Haiti but added that deploying troops in the country is “not on the agenda.”

“We’re only sending American Marines to our embassy to make sure that they are secure and nothing is out of whack at all. But the idea of sending American forces into Haiti is not on the agenda at this moment,” Biden told reporters.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that the US had sent additional personnel to the embassy in Haiti after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated last week, including Marines. It’s not clear from the report or Biden’s comments how many Marines are being deployed.

Haiti’s interim government asked the US to send troops after Moise was killed. Because of Washington’s long, dark history of intervention in Haiti, many in the country are opposed to the US military being deployed there.

Both the Pentagon and the White House said the request was being considered, but Biden’s comments are the clearest indication yet that the US won’t deploy forces to Haiti, at least anytime soon.

The US sent a delegation of officials from the National Security Council and the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and State to help with the investigation that arrived on Sunday.

Details of the plot to kill Moise are still unraveling. So far, at least 20 suspects have been arrested, mostly Colombian nationals. The Pentagon said Thursday that a “small number” of the Colombians who had been detained have previously received training from the US military.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.