Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
Overview:
The United States has proposed a Gang Suppression Force (GSF) for Haiti, including a UN support office to provide logistical support to it, to curb rampant gang violence. However, it is unclear whether the GSF intends to strengthen the existing Kenyan-led security mission—whose mandate expires in October— or replace it.
Editor’s Note: Kervenson Martial, Haitian Times reporter in Port-de-Paix, contributed to this reporting.
The United States and Panama have introduced a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council proposing the creation of a Gang Suppression Force (GSF) to tackle the escalating gang-fueled insecurity expanding from Haiti’s capital to provincial towns.
Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea announced the initiative Aug. 28 during a Security Council session, advocating for a force of up to 5,500 personnel, supplemented by a UN Support Office in Port-au-Prince to manage logistics—from drone surveillance and transportation to fuel and rations.
While several other UN members—particularly countries from the Americas—have shown strong support for the resolution, it remains unclear whether the United States will provide any military or police support to the new GSF. It is also unclear how it will differ from the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) force now deployed in the violence-torn nation, trying to help police curb gang violence, or whether Kenya and the other contributing countries—the Bahamas, El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala and Jamaica—will remain part of it.
One council diplomat told the Associated Press (AP) they had been informed that the Kenya-led force would be renamed and transformed into the Gang Suppression Force, with a significant increase in size and UN logistical support. The diplomat was not authorized to speak publicly because discussions were private.
The current MSS, although authorized in October 2023 and deployed in June 2024, remains severely under-resourced, with fewer than 1,000 personnel, far below its target of 2,500 troops.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed the call for stronger international support, warning of Haiti’s “perfect storm of suffering,” including widespread displacement, food insecurity and the alarming rise of gang recruitment of children, who now make up 50% of gang ranks.
“I reaffirm the UN’s unwavering solidarity and determination to stand with the Haitian people to achieve peace, dignity, and security,” Guterres said during the Council meeting.
He also emphasized the urgent need to increase humanitarian support in Haiti. “The humanitarian toll is staggering: 1.3 million people – half of them children – have fled their homes,” Guterres said. “Six million people need humanitarian assistance.”
Humanitarian appeals are critically underfunded, with the UN’s $908 million appeal for 2025 less than 10% financed, threatening aid to 1.7 million displaced people.
Analysts warn of significant challenges ahead: Haiti’s sovereignty must be respected, and past missions have sparked controversy—from cholera outbreaks to misconduct. The mission’s success will hinge on funding, strict oversight and meaningful Haitian participation.
Acting Ambassador Shea urged UN Security Council members to support the “new path toward peace and security.” She also called on the international community “to come to the table and join the United States, Panama, and others who have demonstrated their commitment to Haiti’s security, in meaningful burden sharing to help promote stability in Haiti.”
Back in February, Guterres proposed opening an office that would provide drones, fuel, ground and air transportation and other non-lethal support to the Kenya-led mission.
Panama’s president, speaking at the same UN Security Council meeting, reaffirmed his country’s commitment to support Haitian security forces by offering training programs in urban and critical infrastructure control. He also warned about the destabilizing shift of children into gang roles.
Seven countries forming a Standing Group of Partners—including Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Kenya—are proposed to provide strategic oversight of the new force. However, the resolution leaves key questions—like funding sources and coordination with Haitian authorities—unanswered.
Similar to the MSS, hiring a private security firm does not lead to any improvement
The U.S. announcement follows reports that Vectus Global, the security firm of former U.S. Navy SEAL Erik Price, contracted with the Haitian government, has been deployed on the ground under Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé’s supervision since March. Despite news that it will soon deploy nearly 200 personnel from various countries to Haiti as part of a 10-year deal to curb gang violence and handle import taxes at the border with the Dominican Republic, Haitians have yet to see any difference on the ground.
This situation continues to increase the frustration of Haitians across the country and abroad. For one, 54-year-old Eliphète Tanis, a resident of Haiti’s Port-de-Paix in the northwest, deplores the lack of improvement.
“Neither the MSS forces nor any private mercenaries have achieved significant progress against the gangs,” he told the Haitian Times. “They are not making any advances that demonstrate a commitment to freeing the country from the gangs’ onslaught; instead, the situation is only worsening day by day.”
Tanis urged the transitional government to take responsibility and called on Haitians to unite in the fight to restore the country’s soul. “Instead of relying on foreigners and hoping they will solve the problems Haiti is facing, it would be better for Haitians to unite and find solutions themselves,” he added.
The deployment by Prince’s company of military contractors is meant to help the government of Haiti recover vast swaths of territory seized in the past year and now controlled by heavily armed gangs, said a person familiar with the matter, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they have not been authorized to discuss the plans.
The company, which provides logistics, infrastructure, security and defense, was founded and is run by Prince, a major donor to U.S. President Donald Trump. Prince previously founded the controversial security firm Blackwater, which was involved in the massacre of 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.