US ambassador visits Haiti to meet new leaders and Kenyan police helping to curb gang violence

PORT-AU-PRINCE (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations traveled to Haiti today to meet leaders of the new transitional government and the Kenyan police who are the vanguard of a U.N.-backed force meant to help the country’s national police curb widespread gang violence.

A senior U.S. administration official said Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s one-day visit also seeks to encourage action on Haiti’s humanitarian crisis and political reform leading to democratic elections in 2026. The ambassador will make two major announcements related to Haiti’s security and humanitarian crises, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the visit.

Gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and have spread into surrounding areas. The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups.