Jamaica launches deployment for Kenya-led security mission in Haiti

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced on Tuesday that the country’s long-anticipated involvement in the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti is set to commence.

Holness stated that Jamaica will deploy 24 security personnel to Haiti to provide command, planning, and logistics support. This contingent includes 20 members from the Jamaica Defense Force and four police officers, who are expected to arrive in Port-au-Prince on Thursday. They will join around 400 Kenyan police officers who began their deployment in late June but have faced challenges in combating the armed gangs that control over 85 percent of Port-au-Prince.

“The security forces remain prepared to support additional deployments as our overall commitment to the mission in Haiti increases,” said Holness, who also serves as the country’s defense minister, following a cabinet meeting. “Jamaica shares strong fraternal ties with the people of Haiti, and we stand in solidarity with them.”

The arrival of Jamaican personnel, even if it doesn’t include all 250 vetted military and police officers, is being welcomed by the Kenyan-led mission.

Kenyan force Commander Godfrey Otunge shared in an exclusive interview that most Jamaican personnel are military, indicating they will focus on securing vital government facilities like the seaport.

The mission, authorized by the U.N. Security Council to assist Haitian police in dismantling armed gangs, has faced challenges due to insufficient staffing and resources.

Jamaica was one of the first countries to offer security personnel for the international force, receiving backing from both Holness’s Jamaica Labour Party and the opposition People’s National Party. On Tuesday, the prime minister highlighted that Jamaica, located 538 kilometers (334 miles) from Haiti, has a national security interest in helping stabilize Haiti, particularly as it faces a burgeoning guns-for-drugs trade.

“It is in our interest to support a lasting resolution to the issues in Haiti,” Holness asserted. “Here in Jamaica, we observe the increasing entrenchment of gangs that orchestrate armed violence for economic gain, instilling fear in communities and undermining the state’s ability to guarantee citizens’ security. This poses an evolving existential threat to law and order and the effective functioning of state institutions not just in Jamaica, but across the region.”

He added, “the regional threat posed by gangs and the organized violence they incite is a danger to the state itself. Haiti exemplifies what could occur if governments do not take these challenges seriously and fail to implement the necessary measures and resources to regain control.”