PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has held talks with Haitian Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry discussing the urgency of enlarging political consensus and reaching a broadly supported agreement to enable a return to democratic order as quickly as possible.
Blinken had earlier met with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders on Wednesday as they wrapped up their three-day 45th annual summit, where the regional leaders had discussed the situation in Haiti.
“The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering support to the Haitian people, including through the continued provision of humanitarian, economic, and security assistance,” said Blink en’s spokesperson, Matthew Miller:
“The leaders agreed on the urgency of deploying a UN-authorized multinational force or peacekeeping operation to enable the Haitian National Police to restore peace and security and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Haiti,” he added.
Last October, Prime Minister Henry called for international assistance with the deployment of a specialized force to help the Haiti national police confront gangs, which had seized control of the country’s key seaport and fuel terminal.
Since then, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has called on the international community to provide support for the specialized, and in his address to CARICOM leaders on Monday night, the UN official said, “I will continue to push for a robust international security force, authorized by the Security Council, to be able to help the Haitian National Police to defeat and dismantle the gangs.
“I reiterate my call to all partners to increase support for the national police through financing, training, and equipment. Let’s be clear: There can be no lasting security without strengthened democratic institutions, and there can be no strong democratic institutions without a drastic improvement in the security situation,” he told the regional leaders.
At a news conference on Wednesday night, CARICOM chairman and Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told reporters that the regional leaders had spent an hour and a half meeting with Guterres and that the entire session was about Haiti.
“Haiti was so crucial at this conference that it occupied a serious chunk of our engagement as we seek to find a solution confronting our brothers and sisters in Haiti,” Skerrit said.
“Now, we have also advanced in the view that there must be a UN Security Resolution only so that we can get a coalition of nations to prepare to support the Haitian government is legal in addressing border security and humanitarian crisis<‘ he added.
Blinken told Caribbean leaders that “the United States shares the commitment felt throughout the region to help Haitian people shape their future and restore the country’s democratic order through free and fair elections.
“Haitians cannot achieve these critical goals without security. That’s why we’ve been and remain the largest donor to Haiti’s national police and support the Haitian government’s call for a multinational force to help its police restore security,” he added.
Skerrit told reporters that last September, Rwanda indicated its willingness to provide peacekeeping and security personnel to help strengthen the national police of Haiti and that the matter had been further discussed with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who was among the various international guests attending the summit.
“There are several steps or actions that we will take going forward, and of course, the prime minister of Haiti has made it very clear in numerous statements …that he will not seek election in Haiti and that he is only prepared to lead a government up until the hosting of credible, free and fair elections.”
During their meeting with Bliken, Skerrit said that the regional leaders had also raised the issue of removing the trade embargo and sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela and curbing the influx of guns into the region from the North American country.
Security, especially with regards to the influx of guns and ammunition coming from the United States into Caribbean countries, creating havoc concerning crime and violence,” he said, urging Washington “to take more concrete actions regarding stemming the flow of guns in our region.
Regarding the sanctions against Venezuela, which Washington has imposed after accusing President Nicolas Maduro of unfairly achieving victory in the last presidential election, Skerrit said the region does not believe there is justification.
“We do not believe that it is a justification for those sanctions on Venezuela, where the Caribbean, especially those of us who have been signatories and beneficiaries of the PetroCaribe agreement, have suffered immensely….”
Skerrit said that the PetroCaribe agreement has “literally come to a halt in small countries” because Caracas cannot meet its obligations under the accord, especially at a time. He said under the initiative. The beneficiary countries would have used a lot of the funds. “They have a reason why they have sanctions in place, but from all vantage points…we believe that the time has come for those sanctions o be lifted”.
Regarding Cuba, where Washington has imposed a trade and economic embargo for decades, Skerrit told reporters, “Well, you know our position is well known.”
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