Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the deployment of a multinational force to Haiti with a price tag of $100 million following a meeting with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica on Monday.
Blinken also announced another $33 million in humanitarian aid and the creation of a joint proposal agreed to by Caribbean leaders and “all Haitian actors to accelerate a political transition” and create a “presidential college,” according to the Associated Press.
The meeting in Jamaica was organized by members of a regional trade bloc known as Caricom, which for months has pushed for a transitional government in Haiti as protests in the country have demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Henry said Tuesday that he would resign after a presidential transition council is established.
“It is clear that Haiti is now at a turning point,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said, according to the AP. “We are deeply distressed that it is too late for many people who have lost too much at the hands of criminal gangs.”
HAITI ORDERS NIGHT CURFEW AFTER ARMED GANGS ESCAPE THOUSANDS OF 'VIOLENT PRUSERS' FROM PRISON
Members of the General Security Unit of the National Palace, USGPN, established a security perimeter around one of the center's three stations after police repelled a gang attack the day before, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Saturday the 9th. of March. , 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Powerful gangs continue to attack key government targets in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. Since February 29, gunmen have burned police stations, closed major international airports and raided the country's two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates.
Last week, U.S. citizens in Haiti were told to leave as soon as possible and a travel alert was issued for the Caribbean country.
ARMED GANGS ESCAPE 4,000 PRISONERS IN HAITI AFTER DAYS OF BATTLE WITH POLICE
Secretary of State Antony Blinken poses for a photo with Jamaican Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, right, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica N. Nick Perry, left, during a meeting on Haiti at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Conference of Heads of Government in Kingston, Jamaica, Monday, March 11, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, Pool via AP)
Dozens of people have died and more than 15,000 have been left homeless after fleeing neighborhoods attacked by gangs. Food and water are dwindling as stalls and stores selling to impoverished Haitians run out of goods. Port-au-Prince's main port remains closed, leaving dozens of containers with critical supplies stranded.
On Monday night, the Haitian government announced it would extend the nighttime curfew until March 14 in a bid to prevent further attacks.
An armed member of the G9 and Familia gang rolls a tire to burn it at a roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls for the urgent deployment of the multinational force and for the mission to receive adequate funding, said his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
Currently, funding is just $10.8 million, and Kenyan officials are demanding more than $230 million.
An inmate waves at the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Enry did not attend the Jamaica meeting. He has been banned from his own country while traveling abroad due to growing unrest.
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Henry remained in Puerto Rico and was taking steps to return to Haiti once possible, according to a brief statement from the US territory's State Department.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
