The Intolerable Role of the United States in Haiti

Haiti’s capital has shut down. With gangs in control, the airport is closed, roads are blocked and the de facto prime minster is stuck in Puerto Rico.

It did not have to end this way. For two years Haitians, Haitian-Americans and the Haiti solidarity community, including Quixote Center, have been working tirelessly to convince the U.S. government to end its support for Haiti’s illegitimate de facto prime minister, Ariel Henry. To step aside and allow Haitians to determine their own path back to democracy. Their response: there are no other options and his resignation would lead to even more chaos.

Now we see that Henry’s refusal to step down is what has led to chaos, and apparently our government is most concerned it will lead to even greater numbers of Haitians fleeing the country. Our government is worried about a migration crisis that it has caused.

Haitian civil society groups have been working with CARICOM mediators to negotiate an end to Henry’s illegitimate regime and a process of transition to elections. The stalemate happened because Henry refused to step down and the United States supported the decision. The U.S. bet on the wrong guy. They should have placed their confidence in the Haitian people.

Violent criminal gangs are in charge because the U.S. has looked the other way while transnational cartels, taking advantage of our weak gun laws, traffic small arms and ammunition out of Miami and New York and into Haiti.

While all of this has been happening, citing security reasons, the U.S. ended its mango export contract with Haiti, putting 300,000 small farmers out of business. During this same period our government has made it increasingly difficult to export coffee out of Haiti.

Of course people are trying to leave. The conditions are unlivable. And when they do, many are forced to travel across the Caribbean and through Panama’s treacherous Darien Gap, also controlled by criminal gangs, where they may or may not survive the ordeal. If they are lucky, they may make it all the way up to the U.S. border with Mexico, where they are threatened with detention and deportation back to Haiti.

Our government’s policy toward Haiti is criminal.