The Biden administration has placed a strong diplomatic focus on Haiti policy, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken making an official visit to the embattled nation on Thursday.
Secretary of State Blinken is stepping up efforts on Haiti, a diplomatic thorny issue that has vexed both Democratic and Republican administrations, 60 days before what is expected to be a hotly contested U.S. presidential election.
“This is not a visit to elect a queen, this is not an event to elect a president, but I think it's a pretty big deal. It shows high-level interest in Haiti. And I think it shows that the administration thinks they have an important issue,” said Brian Concannon, executive director of the Haitian Institute for Justice and Democracy.
The Caribbean nation is in the midst of an experimental transition to democracy, led by a seven-member Transitional Presidential Council established to restore order after the collapse of the previous government.
Blinken played a key role in creating the council, developing the idea with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders during a series of meetings in Kingston, Jamaica in March.
“Since then, Haitians have established an interim presidential council, a government with an interim prime minister, a cabinet, and we see these institutions moving forward and working hard to serve the Haitian people,” Blinken said Thursday in Port-au-Prince.
“The United States appreciates Haiti's leaders' efforts to set aside differences and put the country on the path to free and fair elections.”
Haitian activists have been critical of the low level of Haitian representation at the Kingston conference, and many remain critical of the council's composition.
The establishment of the council comes just before the deployment of a Kenyan police-led Multinational Security Assistance (MSS) mission, plans that have been widely criticised by human rights experts.
“Sending foreign troops to Haiti without proper human rights training, use of force protocols and accountability mechanisms will further endanger a population already enduring an onslaught of daily violence, particularly children,” Ana Piquer, Amnesty International's Americas director, said in July.
The violence has provided US media with fodder, with notorious gang leaders like Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherisier deflecting attention from the country's civil society, elites and the complex political dynamics behind it all.
One such group, the Haitian Tet Carré Party (PHTK), formally ran the country from 2017 to 2024 through the administration of President Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated in 2021, and the nominal transitional government of President Ariel Henry, whose resignation in April paved the way for the Transitional Council.
But Moïse was the handpicked successor to former President Michel Martelly and, although not technically a member of the PHTK, was the political force behind the party's creation and Moïse's rise to power.
Martelli was sanctioned by the United States in August for his involvement in international illegal drug trafficking.
“They sanctioned him on some pretty serious charges – leading a gang, smuggling guns, smuggling cocaine into the United States – and then they sanctioned him with a very light sanction that is totally out of proportion to the alleged wrongdoing, out of proportion to the punishment that Martelli received for the same conduct in Canada, and out of proportion to the punishment that other Haitians received for the same conduct in the United States,” Concannon said.
Martelli is still believed to play a key leadership role within the PHTK and associated groups, including the political parties directly represented on the Transitional Council.
“I'm really surprised that the sanctions against him were so light given the very serious nature of the conduct, and I think it was because they weren't really trying to punish him, they were just trying to get him to do what they wanted,” Concannon said.
“And my most likely guess at what that 'something' is is to make his party more cooperative with the interim government.”
During the visit, which came a week after the sanctions against Martelli were announced, Blinken touted the Biden administration's investments in Haiti, including humanitarian assistance and potential investments in Haiti's economic recovery.
However, his focus was on the Transitional Council's short- and medium-term political goals.
“I think the first thing we need to do is make sure that the security infrastructure is in place. Now the MSS and the Haitian National Police are stepping up, but there's a lot more work to be done. And then we want to get Haiti back on a clear democratic path, and that means elections next year,” Blinken said.
