Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry signaled on Friday that he wanted to mobilize the Haitian military to help the national police fight the country’s increasingly powerful gangs.
The leader said during an appearance at the headquarters of the armed forces that he intended to mobilize all security forces in the country in the fight against gang violence. This statement comes against an uncertain backdrop, as Haiti and some UN officials continue to pressure the international community to deploy foreign armed troops to help quell widespread violence.
Jean Robenson Servilius, who works at the Haitian Ministry of Defense’s press office, confirmed to The Associated Press that officials were working on plans to involve the military. He said the armed forces currently number some 2,000 soldiers and more are being recruited, adding that they have been trained by experts in Argentina, Mexico and Colombia.
Mr. Robenson indicated that he could not provide further details.
The Haitian army had been disbanded in 1995 after participating in several coups, and had been accused of other political interference. The armed forces had been restored by assassinated President Jovenel Moïse in 2017, after the UN ended its peacekeeping operation in Haiti known as MINUSTAH.
Since then, the military has played a limited role, which includes protecting the prime minister of Haiti, among other things.
“Are we ready to work hand in hand with law enforcement in the fight against insecurity? asked Ariel Henry during his visit to Haiti’s military headquarters.
The prime minister did not say when the army would be put into action, how many soldiers would be called up for duty or what role they would play, but he stressed that their help was needed.
“The Haiti we want, we can’t build it with gangs raging everywhere. They must listen to reason, or we will make them listen to reason in spite of themselves,” he said.
The gangs control around 60% of the capital of Port-au-Prince and have killed hundreds of people in the past months in their fight to control more territory following the July 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moïse. Tens of thousands of Haitians have been relocated due to the violence, which UN officials say has reached levels not seen in decades.