Despite Jamaica’s inability to reach the full capacity of members in the police force, the country sent two dozen of its officers to war-torn Haiti in September 2024 in keeping with its participation in a multinational security support mission.
This is as nearly 2000 Haitian police personnel fled their own country.
During his first official visit to the English-speaking Caribbean in March, the US secretary of State Marco Rubio sought feedback from leaders of the 15-member CARICOM bloc on the volatile situation in Haiti, which Andrew Holness described as a threat to regional security. Holness said that the escalating gang crisis in Haiti has reached a point that demands a rapid increase in the number of cops and equipment for the Haiti National Police to battle gangs that are on the verge of taking over the capital.
Holness said that he remains committed to deploying the 200 security personnel that was pledged for Haiti, even as other countries, including Barbados backs out.
“Our position really has always been that our numbers are better suited in providing the technical support,” Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley said. “We don’t have the numbers that other countries have with respect to the capacity to offer those boots on the ground.”
“The commitment for troops and other personnel remains,” Holness was quoted by the Miami Herald as saying earlier this year. “Jamaica sent a command group to Haiti to assist in the development of logistics and planning. That group is due for rotation. They are there for almost six months. Upon rotation, a larger group will be sent. Possibly double the size, and then shortly thereafter, the full complement that we committed of 200 will be on the ground,” he said.
Some 10 countries had together pledged over 3,100 troops for Haiti as part of a U.N.-backed anti-gang force, but few have so far deployed.
Kenya has led the effort to staff the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, originally promising to deploy a total of 1,000 people. In January, Kenya sent 217 additionally police to add to the 400 it sent in 2024. By February, a forth contingent of Kenyan police arrived to help repel violent gangs.
Reuters has revealed that nearly 20 people in the initial deployment submitted letters of resignation from the anti-gang mission due to pay delays and poor conditions. So far, Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica and Belize have been the only other countries to contribute officers to the anti-gang effort.
The Belize Police Department (BPD) faces a shortage of officers, as well as concerns regarding inadequate resources and working conditions. Guatemala on the other hand needs 12,000 additional police.
According to the Haitian Times, Haiti’s National Police, bolstered by the U.N.-backed mission has struggled in its fight against gangs as the mission remains underfunded and understaffed, with only 1,000 personnel sent so far.
Dozens of protesters marched up the hills of Haiti’s capital recently to demand an end to persistent gang violence.
“The only thing the Haitian people are asking for is security,” Eric Jean a 42-year-old bus driver was quoted as saying. “We’re losing more neighborhoods, more people are dying, more people are fleeing their homes,” he added.