A little less than three weeks after their arrival, several hundred Kenyan police officers deployed to Haiti have begun patrolling the streets alongside local forces. The Kenyan officers are the first to arrive as part of a long-delayed multinational mission meant to help wrestle control of Haiti’s capital back from armed gangs. (Washington Post)
Our Take
It has now been more than three years since then-President Jovenel Moise was assassinated, plunging Haiti into its current political and security crisis, in which the sitting government has lost its monopoly on the legitimate use of force. But the international response to the crisis in Haiti did not begin until last year, and not in earnest until the past few months. In fact, nearly eight months passed between when the U.N. Security Council approved the multinational security mission to Haiti and when the first officers arrived from abroad.
To be sure, some progress has been made. After some initial stumbles, a transitional council established in April selected a president and PM who appear to have consensus support among the country’s various stakeholders. And police have taken back control of some key infrastructure, including the main airport and the country’s largest public hospital.