Impoverished, gang-riddled Haiti needs money and support, says OAS
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — The Organization of American States (OAS) has called for more money and international support to alleviate the grinding poverty, chronic instability, and rampant gang violence plaguing Haiti.
OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin spoke to AFP in a video interview about a roadmap released last week by the organisation, urging assistance for the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
Given the long history of failed foreign interventions and squandered aid in the Caribbean country, Ramdin said: “We need to rebuild trust.”
“Canada and the US have done a lot already but in Latin America there is a renewed appetite to see how they can support Haiti,” said the former Suriname foreign minister.
The new road map focuses on security, given that swaths of Haiti — including the vast majority of the capital Port-au-Prince — remain under the control of rival armed gangs.
A Kenyan-led multinational force has been deployed to back up Haiti’s police but violence has continued to soar.
The OAS does not have a mandate for a peacekeeping mission so any force, “will have to be led by the United Nations or another country”, Ramdin said, adding that some South American countries are willing to provide soldiers.
Haiti’s political situation has long been turbulent but has been particularly fraught since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021.
A presidential transition council — which took over the country in 2024 after Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned — has said it will hold elections before the end of its mandate in February 2026.
“I’m not optimistic about that. It’s not impossible but a lot would need to happen,” Ramdin said.
He called for discussions about what will happen when the council’s mandate ends.
“Otherwise, we’ll have a political vacuum that can be exploited by the gang leaders who want to assume a leadership role,” he said.
“Let’s not play politics with Haiti and let’s forget about egos.”
At least 3,141 people have been killed in Haiti during the first half of this year, according to the United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
