HAITIAN government officials have pleaded with Joe Biden to send in troops to safeguard the country’s infrastructure.
They want to protect Haiti’s port, airport, gasoline reserves and other key installations as the country has descended into turmoil in the wake of the brazen assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on Wednesday.
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Haiti has a history of unwanted American military meddling.
But fears have been growing that unrest and political turmoil after the attack could inflame the country’s worst crisis in a generation.
Haiti has been plagued by political intrigue and gang violence, plus a public health crisis driven by the Covid pandemic and problems receiving international aid.
Haitian minister of elections Mathias Pierre said the request was made because President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had vowed to help.
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State Department spokeswoman, Jalina Porter, told a news briefing today she could not confirm such a request.
Yet the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, did say that the United States would be sending senior FBI and homeland security officials to Port-au-Prince “as soon as possible” to help out.
Haitian authorities have said the assassination involved “foreign” forces.
Police have identified more than two dozen people involved in the assassination of the president, including 26 Colombians and two Americans of Haitian descent.
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Colombia’s president asked several of the country’s top spies and an officer from Interpol’s central office in Colombia to travel to Haiti to help with the investigation, Colombia’s defense department said today.
Haitian minister of elections Mathias Pierre said the country was already struggling with “urban terrorists”.
He said: “The group that financed the mercenaries want to create chaos in the country,” he said. “Attacking the gas reserves and airport might be part of the plan.”
