US pledges more aid for Haiti during Blinken visit

Haitians are wary of the possibility of a U.N. peacekeeping mission, given their “bad memories” of the 2004-2017 mission, The Washington Post reported, which linked international troops to incidents of sexual violence and a deadly cholera outbreak. The U.S.-funded, Kenyan-led police mission in Haiti has already drawn criticism for its failure to quell the violence, and Washington is caught between providing stability and provoking a new backlash. Despite ongoing international efforts to curb gang violence, experts say outside intervention could prove futile without deeper political reform. “To me, there is really little chance that a security force can provide lasting stability in Haiti without significant political change,” a researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research told The Post.