In response to a pending request from the Haitian government for the quick deployment of foreign troops, the US and Canada sent armoured vehicles and other supplies to Haiti on Saturday (US time) to aid police in their fight against a strong gang.
A statement from the US State Department said that the equipment had been purchased by the Haitian government, but it gave no further information regarding the supplies that had been delivered to Port-au-Prince by military planes.
Although he added that it was a cooperative operation including the US Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force, a spokeswoman for the US military’s Southern Command said he was unable to provide any additional information on the supplies supplied.
The State Department stated that this equipment “will enable (Haiti’s National Police) in their fight against criminal actors who are inciting violence and obstructing the flow of desperately needed humanitarian assistance, thereby impeding efforts to stop the spread of cholera.”
The Pan American Health Organisation said there are more than 560 suspected cases of cholera, some 300 hospitalisations and at least 35 deaths, with experts warning the numbers are likely much higher than what is being reported.
More than a month after one of Haiti’s most powerful gangs surrounded a petroleum terminal and demanded Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation, the equipment arrived.
Following Henry’s announcement in early September that his administration could no longer afford to subsidise fuel, protesters have also blocked roads in key cities in an effort to draw attention to the dramatic increase in fuel costs.
Since then, as fuel, water, and other supplies have become scarce throughout Haiti, gas stations have shuttered, hospitals have reduced their services, and banks and grocery stores have only seldom operated.
The proprietors of the fuel terminal reported on Saturday that armed individuals had assaulted their facilities a second time and had overpowered security and emergency workers before fleeing with more than 106,000 litres of petroleum products.
Armed men burst into the facility, which houses more than 38 million litres of gasoline and fuel and more than 3 million gallons of kerosene, for the second time this week.
US and Canadian armoured vehicles are sent to support Haiti’s police.
About Author
