Contrary to the information published by ZoomHaitiNews yesterday, former Senator Chris Dodd has not been formally “designated to be in charge of the Haiti file”. This is what a State Department spokesperson told ZoomHaitiNews. The U.S. official also said that “the State Department does not have a position of chief negotiator for Haiti either. “However, he acknowledged that efforts are underway to find an interlocutor who can facilitate dialogue between the parties involved in the Haitian crisis.
“The United States, other international partners, and Haitian stakeholders themselves have proposed a number of potential interlocutors over the past year to help protagonists overcome their disagreements,” said one U.S. State Department spokesperson who requested anonymity.
The official also provided clarification on the role of former Senator Chris Dodd, who was appointed “to the position of Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas, as an extension of his role as Special Advisor for the Ninth Summit of the Americas, which was held in Los Angeles in June.” In this capacity, “Senator Dodd will help advance the implementation of key initiatives that President Biden announced at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, covering economic cooperation, migration, health, human rights, food security, and other priorities,” according to a statement on the State Department Website.
The spokesman did not, however, give details on the role of Jonathan Powell also mentioned in the ZoomHaitiNews article. The British diplomat was in Haiti last week where he held meetings with representatives of the private business sector, the political class and Haitian civil society.
ZoomHaïtiNews had also reported in the same article published on November 27, 2022 that the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols would no longer be in charge of the Haiti file.
As Special Advisor for the Americas, former Senator Christopher John Dodd will certainly have a say in the Haiti issue. But he has no formal responsibility in this sense, we have learned.