The Miami Herald recently ran an incredibly informative article about plans that the US has to help Haiti in 2026. We encourage you to read the full article here.
We’ve also sumarized it below for you:
Summary
At a recent Senate hearing on U.S. aid to Haiti, Washington’s top diplomat in Port-au-Prince outlined the Trump administration’s strategy for addressing the country’s severe security crisis. With approximately 20 armed gangs holding Haiti hostage and only a fraction of the national police force actively engaged in combat, U.S. officials emphasized that restoring security and economic stability are critical to preventing state collapse and mass migration. The hearing marked the first congressional discussion on Haiti since passage of the fiscal year 2026 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which directs funding for security assistance and development programs.
Key Points:
• Security Crisis: About 3,000 gang members pose the greatest threat out of 12,000 total armed individuals, while Haiti’s National Police has only 400 or fewer officers actively fighting against them from a force of 6,000 on the books.
• Gang Suppression Force: A U.N.-authorized international coalition of 5,500 personnel from 15 countries is expected to begin arriving April 1, with full operational capability projected by September to support Haitian police in combating gangs.
• Congressional Funding: The appropriations bill provides up to $5 million in nonlethal assistance for Haiti’s armed forces—the first such funding since the military was disbanded in the 1990s—and renewed the HOPE/HELP duty-free trade program for one year to support tens of thousands of garment industry jobs.
• Humanitarian Crisis: Armed gangs now control up to 90% of the capital, and sexual violence has escalated dramatically, with gangs conducting systematic “community rapes” to terrorize entire neighborhoods.
• Economic Imperative: U.S. officials stressed that security gains will be fleeting without economic improvement, noting that 34% of Haitian children are forced to work, some with gangs, due to poverty.
• Political Instability: Haiti has gone 10 years without an election and nearly five years through successive transitions since President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in 2021, with Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé now serving as the country’s sole leader.
You can read the full article at The Miami Herald
