iciHaiti - Insecurity : Humanitarian aid providers must deal with gangs…

Those bringing humanitarian aid to Haiti must consider the influence of the heavily armed gangs that control large parts of the country "If anybody wants to deliver humanitarian assistance to Haiti, they have to come to terms with the gangs," said Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and current President of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on Voice of America.

"There are gang leaders who are also political operatives, who control important communities," Gonsalves said, warning "you have to be careful you don't set about to engage with gangs in Haiti and provide some legitimacy to them."

Gonsalves believes that people with gang ties were likely present at the talks between representatives of Haitian civil society and the government in Jamaica this week.

Recalling that since October 2022, Prime Minister a.i. of Haiti Ariel Henry has called for an international force to help the police restore security and establish the conditions for the long-awaited elections, but no country has yet offered to lead such a force "Meanwhile, Haitian migration is threatening security in neighboring Caribbean countries."

Gonsalves will travel to Brussels for an EU-CELAC summit on July 17-18 on the security situation in Haiti.

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