‘Haiti needs foreign military intervention’

In Haiti, pistols and, sometimes, heavy machine guns “are imported clandestinely today, in a context of rapid and unprecedented deterioration of security,” says a recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). .

For some, the first step out of this crisis would be to strengthen the police to combat criminal gangs. Professor Joseph Harold Pierre, an international consultant in Port-au-Prince, however, thinks that there is a first step.

“Strengthening the Haitian police is necessary, but it is not the first step. It is not the first stage. The first stage is a military intervention to put an end to criminal gangs. Or perhaps the two things could be done together.”

Because?

“Because the Haitian police don’t have the experience or the troops. They don’t have the weapons to fight the gangs either, and institutional strengthening is going to take a long time.”

How many police are there in Haiti?

“Some 13,000, but less than 10,000 are working. We are talking about a population of 12 million inhabitants. In other words, in Haiti we have less than one police officer for every thousand inhabitants. And in the Haitian case, we would need about 10 or 15 for every thousand inhabitants. The security situation in Haiti is grave.”

Do you consider this foreign intervention viable with the current government?

“No, for the simple reason that the government does not have the capacity to do so. In particular, to direct the mission. But it is clear that a military intervention in Haiti is necessary because the situation of violence has worsened. Today, Taking to the streets in Haiti is a very intrepid act for any Haitian. There are two multilateral organizations, CELAC and CARICOM, that have the will to do so, but do not have the capacity. For this reason, a military intervention is not in sight at the moment abroad, even if necessary.

Some would expect that military intervention would come from the United States or Canada. What do you think?

“They are, effectively, the two most influential countries in the international community in Haiti. And if we consider the Haitian diasporas, most of them are in the United States. They are the countries that do have, let’s say, the capacity (to conduct a military intervention). But not only that, I would say that they also have the political responsibility to intervene in Haiti, but those countries are not involved in that.”

Last year the UN recorded 1,359 kidnappings and more than 2,000 deaths in Haiti, a third more than the previous year.