U.S. Senator Ed Markey is very upset with the de facto government of Ariel Henry. For the Massachusetts Senator in the U.S. Senate, “what the current Haitian government is doing is absolutely unacceptable.”
The prominent Massachusetts senator believes that it is urgent that the United States appoint a new special envoy to Haiti in order to facilitate a solution to the crisis that Haiti is going through and that has worsened after the assassination of its 58th president Jovenel Moïse. Mr. Markey believes that the new special envoy should have the mission, among others, to make the voice of the United States heard and to stop the oppression of the current government against the population.
“I have made it very clear that I want President Biden to appoint a new special envoy to intervene in this country as a way to make sure that the American voice is heard, that this government that is acting in an oppressive manner towards the people understands from the United States point of view that this is not acceptable,” said the Senator who says he has made his position clear to the Biden administration on the actions of the government of Ariel Henry.
On July 22, 2021, the United States had appointed Ambassador Daniel Foote as a new special envoy to Haiti who was supposed to be in charge of facilitating a solution to the crisis. But the U.S. diplomat resigned two months later in protest of the treatment of Haitian immigrants under the Del Rio Bridge in Texas last year. Mr. Foote also denounced the fact that his recommendations were not taken into account. He had recommended that the United States support the Montana Agreement, which in his opinion was the best formula to get the country out of the crisis.
For Senator Markey, a new special envoy appears increasingly important. “We need the United States to step into the middle of all these problems, by sending a special envoy so that the Haitian people have hope that the United States is going to play a role in solving these problems. And I will continue to raise my voice with my colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives to make sure that this is part of any potential solution,” said the congressman in an exclusive interview with ZoomHaitiNews and Caribbean Television Network.
For some time, the issue of Haiti has been debated at the highest level of the U.S. administration. The United States is working to find a country to lead an international non-UN mission “to restore peace” to a country in the grip of a multi-dimensional crisis. At the end of October 2022, the head of U.S. diplomacy, Antony Blinken, made a trip to Canada to discuss the issue of Haiti and convince Ottawa to take the lead of the international force that would be deployed in Haiti in the near future. A proposal Canada welcomed by Canada according to sources. It had sent an assessment mission to Haiti last October.
In the meantime, the U.S. and Canadian governments continue to use all means to impose a solution on the Haitian people. They have adopted sanctions against certain political and economic figures as well as members of the current government. Sanctions ranging from revoking visas and freezing assets of those accused of involvement in fueling the violence in Haiti. However, out of a list of nearly 50 people, only the names of the president of the third of the dysfunctional Haitian Senate, Joseph Lambert, and former Senator Youri Latortue were made public Friday. These two political figures are also accused by the United States and Canada of being involved in illicit drug trafficking.