Overview:
Haiti has delivered seven new armored autos to the Armed Forces (FAd’H)—the primary since their 2017 remobilization—to strengthen help for the police amid worsening gang violence. The acquisition is a part of a 17-vehicle order amid insecurity that has displaced over a million individuals this yr alone.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haitian authorities handed over a primary batch of seven Senator RAM MRAP armored autos to the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H) on Saturday, Nov. 8, throughout a ceremony on the Prime Minister’s Workplace in Port-au-Prince. The supply marks the primary important acquisition of tactical gear for the military since its remobilization in 2017.
The ceremony drew Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, Transitional Council member Leslie Voltaire, cupboard officers and senior officers. The seven autos are a part of a 17-unit order meant to spice up the FAd’H’s capability to again police operations as gangs tighten their grip on Port-au-Prince..
“Because the remobilization of the Haitian Armed Forces, that is the primary time they’re receiving important tactical gear,” stated Protection Minister Jean Michel Moïse. “It will allow them to take management of the nation’s safety and protection, and totally help the police and authorities within the battle towards gangs.”
A symbolic increase for an under-equipped drive
Reestablished in 2017 by the late President Jovenel Moïse after a 22-year absence, the FAd’H was assigned to catastrophe response, border safety, and help for the Haitian Nationwide Police (PNH). However restricted funding, coaching, and gear have left the drive largely symbolic as gang energy escalates.
Based on the 2025–2026 nationwide price range, the military consists of 987 energetic service members—819 males and 168 girls—making it a modest drive amid Haiti’s rising safety disaster. The Protection Ministry obtained 10.7 billion gourdes (about $82 million) this fiscal yr, a slight enhance from 2024’s allocation of below $65 million, however nonetheless in need of what’s wanted for large-scale operations.
Regardless of its small measurement, the military has been deployed in restricted missions, together with in Kenscoff and the mountains round Pétion-Ville, the place troopers have supported police in pushing again armed teams tied to the Viv Ansanm gang coalition.
A wider safety and humanitarian disaster amid guarantees of modernization
The brand new autos arrive as gangs proceed to broaden throughout greater than 90 % of Port-au-Prince, in response to UN estimates. Killings, kidnappings, and compelled displacements persist regardless of the formation of the Kenya-led Multinational Safety Assist (MSS) mission, now built-in into the Gang Suppression Power (GSF). 1,247 individuals have been killed and 710 injured between July and September 2025, in response to a United Nations report.
Greater than 1.3 million individuals have been displaced nationwide, many residing in colleges, deserted buildings, or makeshift camps with restricted entry to meals and clear water. The violence has paralyzed many of the financial system and delayed indefinitely the group of elections, initially anticipated by February 2026.
“Regardless of the symbolic nature of this supply, it sends a message of resilience,” stated a protection analyst based mostly in Port-au-Prince, noting that the FAd’H’s new armored fleet is “largely symbolic however politically important amid a management disaster.”
Presidential councilor Voltaire stated the federal government plans to proceed modernizing the military by including air and maritime items within the coming yr.
“At this time we’re equipping the FAd’H with land transport autos, and we’re already negotiating to acquire air and maritime transport gear,” Voltaire stated. “We’re constructing a military that may reply to pure disasters and defend Haiti’s borders and shoreline.”
The Senator RAM MRAP autos—manufactured by Ontario-based Roshel Protection Options—are designed to resist landmines and ambushes, making them appropriate for counter-gang operations in city areas. The Haitian Armed Forces will share operational coordination with the PNH’s specialised items, together with SWAT and UDMO.
Haiti’s Safety by the Numbers
- +1.3 million — Individuals displaced by gang violence nationwide as of late 2025, in response to the UN.
- 5,500+ — Estimated deaths attributable to gang violence since January 2024, based mostly on UN human rights stories and Haitian civil society monitoring teams.
- +90% — Estimated portion of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan space presently below gang management.
- 987 — Complete members of the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H), together with 819 males and 168 girls.
- 17 — Variety of armored autos ordered for the FAd’H since 2017; seven delivered within the first batch.
- 10.7 billion gourdes (~$82 million USD) — Complete Protection Ministry price range for fiscal yr 2025–2026.
- 6,284 — Irregular police promotions issued between mid-2024 and August 2025, in response to an inside investigation.
- 0 — Nationwide territory totally reclaimed from gang management regardless of ongoing operations by the police, military, and Kenya-led worldwide forces.
Graphic by The Haitian Occasions.
Persistent institutional strains
Even with new armored autos, Haiti’s safety establishments face severe structural challenges. The Nationwide Police, Haiti’s major regulation enforcement physique, is below fireplace following an inside investigation revealing that greater than 6,200 promotions issued between mid-2024 and August 2025 violated normal procedures, additional straining morale and budgets.
The irregular promotions, which reportedly burdened state payrolls by tons of of thousands and thousands of gourdes, spotlight the shortage of coordination between Haiti’s safety companies at a time of nationwide disaster.
As gang assaults intensify and worldwide help lags, the federal government’s symbolic handover of navy gear underscores each its willpower and its limitations in restoring state authority.