CARICOM Analyzes the Haitian Situation on the Ground

On Monday, a high-level delegation from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) visited Haiti to learn about the prevailing situation in the country through talks with Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, officials, senior police officers, politicians, and social leaders.

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Speaking with the visitors, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry stressed the urgent need to adopt concrete measures to restore a secure environment in his country, which is an essential condition for the organization of general elections.

For his part, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness confirmed CARICOM's support for the Haitian people and the process of return to democracy.

"Each stakeholder group expressed the urgency of national security and the need to safeguard the Haitian population from gangs. Underpinning this is a call for organic democracy, institution building, structure and organization," he said after meeting with Haitian citizens.

"CARICOM is anxious to play a role in the restoration of stability in Haiti and will be a strong advocate for support to Haiti, as well as a facilitator for the process of consensus building," he added.

"The region has an obvious interest in Haiti's return to normalcy as they run the risk of suffering the consequences of the ongoing difficulties there which have the potential of spilling over. Therefore the region must pay keen attention to the issues there and work towards solutions," Holness pointed out.

Currently, Haiti is going through a critical situation due to factors such as disputes between political elites, the reappearance of cholera, citizen insecurity, and the actions of armed gangs that control a large part of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince.

The CARICOM delegation was also made up of ministers from the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as representatives of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Its visit to Haiti was one of the agreements of the CARICOM rulers' conference held in the Bahamas in mid-February, when the integration bloc decided to play a leading role in confronting insecurity in Haiti but ruled out sending troops.