December 23, 2024
During a press conference held on Monday, July 8, Rameau Normil, the head of the Haitian National Police, announced the end of the evaluation and planning phase of operations aimed at combating armed gangs plaguing the country. He promised that concrete actions would be taken very soon to address the growing insecurity. Normil stressed that several meetings have already taken place between the high command of the Haitian National Police (HNP) and the police chiefs of the multinational force deployed there, aimed at coordinating a rapid and effective response.
“Recess is over,” insisted Normil, affirming the determination of the security forces to restore order. With this in mind, he also announced that the premises of the State Hospital General are now under the control of the HNP. In addition, the base of the Departmental Operation and Intervention Brigade (BOID) was reinforced, and a task force was set up to recover the Gressier police station that was recently taken over by gangs for a second time. Despite these efforts, gangs continue to control 80% of Port-au-Prince, with most of their weapons coming from Florida.
At the same time, the Kenyan commander of the security mission, Godfrey Otunga, recalled their mission is to restore peace in Haiti. He reiterated the desire to collaborate closely with the Haitian and international authorities to achieve this objective. Otunga insisted on the need for support from all national and international actors to guarantee the success of these security operations, emphasizing the importance of global cooperation to stabilize the situation in Haiti.
The deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, authorized by the United Nation’s Security Council on October 3, 2023, marked a crucial step in these efforts. With the arrival of the first contingent of Kenyan police officers on June 25, the MSS is tasked with curbing the criminal activities of gangs. This context comes after the appointment of Garry Conille as Prime Minister on May 28 and the inauguration of a new transitional government on June 12, composed of 14 ministers at the head of 18 ministries, thus strengthening the initiative to restore order in Haiti.
No official date was announced as to when this operation will begin.