More than 150 Kenyan riot police have arrived in Haiti’s capital, just days after US President Donald Trump halted funding for a Nairobi-led UN security mission. This new contingent joins over 600 Kenyan officer already collaborating with Haitian police forces. The US has frozen more than $13 million of a promised $15 million in aid for the mission, as part of a broader suspension of foreign assistance initiated by Trump. However, the US State Department has since approved waivers for $40.7 million in foreign aid to support the ongoing UN operation and Haitian police. The arrival of additional officers comes in response to a surge in gang violence. A UN human-rights report indicates an increase in gang-related homicides despite the presence of the Kenyan-led multinational security force.
In early 2024, the Kenyan High Court deemed the deployment of Kenyan police to Haiti unconstitutional. Flouting its ruling, Kenyan President William Ruto and then-Haitian Interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry proceeded to sign an agreement that authorised the deployment – widely slammed as providing Blackface cover for more US meddling.