Haiti asks Washington and the UN to send troops to secure the country

Published on : 07/10/2021 – 05:06

Three days after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, the country’s authorities indicated on Friday July 9 that they had asked the United States and the UN to send troops to secure strategic sites.

If we know that the armed commando which executed the president consisted of 28 people (26 Colombians and two Americans of Haitian origin), no details have emerged on the reasons for this act or on the identity of his sponsors, and the mystery of this assassination remains unresolved.

Police and military in Colombia have claimed that at least 17 former Colombian military personnel were suspected of being involved in the assassination.

Fearing that vital infrastructure such as ports, airports, oil terminals or the transport of petroleum products could be targeted to create confusion, the Haitian government asked Washington and the United Nations to send troops to secure them.

UN resolution needed

“After the assassination of the president, we thought that the mercenaries might destroy some infrastructure in order to create chaos in the country. During a conversation with the US secretary of state and the UN, we made this request “, Mathias Pierre, minister responsible for electoral matters, told AFP.

The US State Department confirmed that the Haitian government had “requested security and investigative assistance.” “We remain in regular contact with Haitian officials to discuss how the United States can help,” said a spokesperson.

A diplomatic source at the UN had earlier indicated that the Haitian authorities had made this request in order to protect the airport and the oil installations, but that a Security Council resolution was necessary for this purpose.

Without confirming the arrests of US nationals, the US said it would send FBI officials to Port-au-Prince “as quickly as possible”.

With AFP