The deployment of a new gang-suppression force in Haiti could be derailed without immediate action from the United Nations.
The United States has warned it will withhold funding for the next multinational mission in Haiti unless the U.N. Security Council approves a resolution to expand the mandate.
The administration has made clear that its financial support for the Multinational Security Support mission (MSS) cannot be guaranteed without Security Council approval of the plan.
“The U.S. provision of support for the MSS, and what we have been providing, will expire at the end of December,” said U.S. chargé d’affaires in Haiti Henry Wooster, quoted by Reuters and reported by the Latin Times.
In a resolution introduced last month, the U.S. and Panama proposed creating a “gang-suppression force” of up to 5,500 uniformed personnel.
According to the Latin Times, the force would be granted powers of arrest and detention, along with military-grade capabilities and lethal equipment.
The proposal comes as current forces in Haiti have failed to retake territory from gangs, which continue to control much of Port-au-Prince.
The plan envisions countries contributing both troops and funding, with the United States, Canada, El Salvador and Kenya expected to provide “strategic direction,” the Latin Times reported.
Kenyan troops are expected to leave Haiti soon. President William Ruto announced at the U.N. General Assembly’s 80th session that their mission was nearing its end. The Multinational Security Support mission (MMSS) would then be replaced by the new gang-suppression force — but only if the U.S.-Panama resolution is approved by the Security Council.
From Washington, the warning is explicit: without a decision to expand the mission’s mandate, current U.S. funding will lapse at the end of December. That deadline forces the U.N. to choose between adopting the expanded mandate — which includes the new anti-gang force — or risking a U.S. pullback.
The Latin Times noted that the U.S.-Panama plan aims to equip the mission with enforcement tools calibrated to the scale of the threat, against the backdrop of persistent difficulties in restoring security and reclaiming gang-controlled areas. The concept of an expanded multinational mission — with judicial authority to arrest and detain, backed by lethal capabilities — reflects that approach.
Politically, the U.S. warning increases pressure on the Security Council, though the timing of a vote and operational details remain unclear, according to the Latin Times. The immediate stakes are continuity of funding and the adoption — or rejection — of the expanded format first proposed in August.
Sources: Latin Times (Demian Bio)
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