Overview:
Haiti obtained reinforcements for the Multinational Safety Assist Mission (MSS) as 150 Guatemalan troopers and eight Salvadoran personnel arrived on Jan. 3 and 4, 2025. These troops be part of safety forces from six nations to fight armed gangs and stabilize the nation, which stays gripped by violence and unrest.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — A complete of 150 Guatemalan and eight Salvadoran troopers arrived in Haiti on Friday, Jan. 3, and Saturday, Jan. 4, to strengthen the Multinational Safety Assist Mission (MSS), which now contains 572 members. They arrived at Toussaint Louverture Worldwide Airport aboard a U.S. army plane. Their arrival, initially scheduled for December 2024, was postponed attributable to a volcanic eruption in Guatemala.
“We’re relying on their assist to affix the Haitian regulation enforcement forces and different members of the multinational mission to revive peace within the nation,” stated Leslie Voltaire, President of the Transitional Presidential Council (TPC), according to the Presidency of Haiti.
“They’re coming to strengthen the multinational forces within the combat in opposition to armed gangs within the nation.”
“The Salvadorans are being deployed to arrange for the arrival of different contingents,” stated Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesperson for the Haitian Nationwide Police (HNP), confirming that one other flight is predicted in coming days.
The 158 safety personnel from Guatemala and El Salvador have been welcomed by Leslie Voltaire, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, Normil Rameau, director common of the (HNP), Godfrey Otunge, head of the Multinational Safety Assist Mission, and U.S. Ambassador Dennis Hankins.
On January 4, 2025, an extra 75 Guatemalan troopers arrived in Port-au-Prince, finishing Guatemala’s dedication of 150 troops, together with 19 ladies, to the MSS mission. This deployment brings the mission’s complete personnel to 572, nonetheless removed from the anticipated 2,500 members. In the meantime, the precise variety of Salvadoran troopers anticipated to affix stays unclear. Otunge known as on nations which have pledged assist however have but to deploy their forces, urging quick motion to help Haiti in its combat in opposition to gang violence, which continues to destabilize the nation.
“We’re relying on their assist to affix the Haitian regulation enforcement forces and different members of the multinational mission to revive peace within the nation.”
Leslie Voltaire, President of the Transitional Presidential Council (TPC).
“Haiti urgently wants your assist,” Otunge stated. “2025 won’t be simple for the gangs. As we enter the decisive operational section in assist of the PNH, the gangs have solely two selections: give up, lay down their weapons, and face justice, or confront us on the sphere.”
The newly arrived Guatemalan troopers will collaborate with Kenyan cops from the Multinational Safety Assist (MSS) mission and brokers of the Haitian Nationwide Police (PNH) to fight gang violence. In a statement posted on X (previously Twitter), Guatemalan authorities detailed their troopers’ duties: sustaining self-discipline and order inside army items, safeguarding army installations, and overseeing personnel actions on the mission’s headquarters.
Guatemalan army authorities emphasised the broader significance of this deployment, stating, “On this method, it contributes to world peace and demonstrates the assist of the Guatemalan State to the Haitian individuals and regional safety. We reiterate that worldwide cooperation is crucial to construct a extra simply and safe future.”
As of now, the MSS mission includes safety personnel from six nations: 382 Kenyan cops, 20 troopers and 4 cops from Jamaica, 2 troopers from Belize, 6 troopers from the Royal Bahamas Defence Drive, 150 Guatemalan troopers, and eight Salvadoran troopers.
The arrival of those new contingents happens amid ongoing gang actions within the capital, with armed teams searching for to develop their territorial management. Notably, in the beginning of 2025, police forces thwarted members of the “Kraze Baryè” gang within the commune of Pétion-Ville, who have been trying to ascertain a presence within the Laboule space.