Blinken to visit Haiti as US-backed mission to take on gangs struggles

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel Thursday to Haiti as the U.S. backs a struggling mission to restore order to the Caribbean nation plagued by armed gangs.

Blinken will meet with Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille and Edgard Leblanc Fils, the presidential council coordinator for a transitional council that was set up over the spring to pave the way for new elections once the gangs are defeated.

During the visit, Blinken will discuss Haiti’s democratic transition and U.S. support to restore order and provide humanitarian support to the country, according to a State Department release.

Blinken will also meet with leaders of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, which is led by Kenya. The MSS first deployed some 400 police troops to Haiti at the end of June, with an expected 2,500 to arrive eventually.

After the trip to Haiti, Blinken will visit Haiti's neighbor, the Dominican Republic, and meet with President Luis Abinader.

The trip marks Blinken's first visit to Haiti since the MSS was deployed and gangs terrorized much of the nation, plunging it into a humanitarian crisis that threatens to spiral even further out of control.

The MSS has yet to stamp out the armed gangs that have taken over most of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area, struggling with a lack of resources and manpower to lead the Haitian National Police in a mission to restore order.

The U.S. is the main benefactor of the mission, providing some $300 million to the MSS, while American contractors built the base from which the police work.

U.S. Southern Command, the military headquarters that oversees the Latin American region, has helped deliver crucial equipment for the police forces, including a delivery of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles last month.

Conille told The Wall Street Journal this week that he lacks manpower and resources to take on the gangs, describing the situation as "the worst I’ve seen in my entire lifetime."

"We’re doing this with absolutely nothing,” he said. "We need help."