PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (AFP)— United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for international support for Haitian police to deal with the country’s “unprecedented” wave of violence in recent months.

“I have come here from Haiti, where the security situation is rapidly deteriorating, and humanitarian needs are soaring,” Guterres said in Trinidad and Tobago, where the Caricom summit for Caribbean countries was opening.

“I reiterate my call on all partners to increase support for Haiti’s national police — in the form of financing, training, or equipment,” the UN chief said.

Guterres travelled to Haiti at the weekend to spotlight violence and chaos in the country, where he has been calling for a robust international effort to help the beleaguered police in fighting rampant criminal gangs.

For months he has raised the alarm about the situation in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country, which has been wracked by spiralling violence, worsening public health conditions and political instability.

“We must collectively do more to help the Haitian people chart a path towards elections and a political solution,” Guterres said, calling for “a drastic improvement in the security situation.”

He said support for the police was needed to “dismantle the gangs that have created this unprecedented violence.”

UN officials have offered increasingly grim assessments of the impact of gang shootings, kidnappings and rapes on the Haitian population.

Last week, UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said after a trip to Port-au-Prince that the world was “failing the Haitian people.”

Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been seeking international intervention for nearly a year, but no country has yet stepped up although Brazil and Canada are the most involved in the discussions.