UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — A group of seven countries including the United States on Wednesday asked the UN Security Council to strengthen the multinational force tapped to combat gang violence in Haiti, according to a letter seen by AFP.

The letter also announced the seven countries will form a “group of partners” to oversee the mission, which was first approved by the UN Security Council in 2023 to assist Haitian authorities in containing the spiraling violence in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Over a year after the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission first deployed, with the initial effort led by Kenya, the situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate, with its capital Port-au-Prince almost entirely under gang control.

“The MSS mission lacks the resources and capacity to fully meet the growing challenge,” the letter said, co-signed by the United States, Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kenya and the Bahamas.

Of the 2,500 police officers that the MMS had hoped to deploy to Haiti, only about 1,000 from six countries have been sent, including more than 700 from Kenya.

“Only an expanded force, provisioned by a UN Support Office and authorized to undertake counter-gang operations…can substantially reduce gang control,” the letter to the UN Security Council continued.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in February had recommended creating a new UN office tasked with supporting the mission, which is also faced with a lack of financial support and equipment shortages.

Guterres also suggested creating the “standing group of partners,” which the letter co-signatories agreed to create, along with Kenya as the current “Force Commander.”

The group would be responsible for securing funds for any personnel not provided by the future UN office, as well as recruiting more law enforcement to participate in the mission and providing “strategic representation and coordination for the force.”