The US accuses “corrupt” Haitian politicians of using gangs to sow chaos.

Port-au-Prince,.- United States accused this Friday “corrupt” Haitian politicians of using armed criminal gangs to sow chaos in the country, which between January and November of last year recorded more than 8,100 murders amid one of the worst crises in its history.

In a statement, the US embassy in Haiti pointed out that “chronic instability” in Haiti “is not a consequence of any deficiency in the Haitian character, culture, or constitution.”

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This instability is due, according to the United States, to “corrupt Haitian politicians who use gangs and other armed groups to sow chaos in the streets and then demand a role in the government, claiming that they are able to reduce the disorder they themselves have caused.” For the North American country, “lasting stability can only be achieved when political leaders obtain their legitimacy from the support of voters, and not from their ability to sow chaos”. In this context, he expressed his “unwavering” support for stability and security in Haiti, as well as for Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, after five of the seven members of the Presidential Transition Council (CPT), whose term expires on February 7th, requested the official’s resignation. “The members of the CPT who have followed this path are not Haitian patriots. They are criminals, just like the gangs they conspire with,” concluded the note shared on the embassy’s X account. This same Friday, it was reported from Washington that the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had a telephone conversation with Fils-Aimé, to whom he expressed his support for the government and recalled that the CPT must be dissolved on February 7th.

“Secretary Rubio emphasized the importance of his mandate as Prime Minister of Haiti to combat terrorist gangs and stabilize the island. The current violence caused by the gangs can only be stopped with firm and consistent leadership”, detailed the State Department in a statement.

Furthermore, the head of US diplomacy “added that the Presidential Transition Council (CPT) must be dissolved before February 7, without corrupt actors trying to interfere in Haiti’s path towards an elected government for their own benefit.” “The United States will ensure that there is a high cost for corrupt politicians who support violent gangs and sow terror in Haiti,” the note warns. According to the clauses of a national agreement signed on April 3, 2024, the CPT, invested on April 25 of the same year, had the mission of restoring security in the territories held by armed gangs, organizing inclusive, honest and democratic general elections, holding a referendum on a draft Constitution and favoring the resumption of economic activities, points that have not been achieved so far. The authorities have scheduled the first round of the presidential elections for August 30, 2026. The last presidential elections were held in 2016, when Jovenel Moïse was elected, who was assassinated in 2021. Armed violence in Haiti, which has been mired in a severe crisis for years, has intensified in urban and peri-urban areas, where gangs use high-caliber weapons and carry out coordinated attacks on several fronts.