In a twist of irony, while African countries are scrambling to enforce Western imperialism in Haiti through a planned deployment of Kenyan police, a country further south is standing up for the predominantly Black state.
In this 1 March clip, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated his opposition to the move, pointing to the failures of past foreign interventions. In one of the most famous cases, UN occupation forces caused the deaths of at least 10,000 Haitians after they dumped sewerage in Haiti’s water supply. Extrajudicial killings and child rapes were rampant during previous deployments, too.
During the US military occupation in the early 20th century, it conducted what may have been the first US aerial bombardment in Haiti. With Haiti’s estimated $20 billion in precious metals, farmland, as well as its strategic location, some suspect the deployment is meant to aid Western looting. The same countries financing the operation are responsible for the dysfunction. For example, France forced Haiti to pay ‘reparations’ for winning freedom from enslavers.
The United States has looted Haiti’s gold, deposed democratically elected leaders like Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and supported unpopular presidents like François’ Papa Doc’ Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude’ Baby Doc’ Duvalier.