The United States is freezing its financial contributions to the Kenyan-led multinational security force in Haiti, a UN spokesman said Tuesday, a move that will block $13.3 million in outstanding aid. “We have received a formal notification from the United States requesting an immediate freeze of its contribution” to the trust fund for the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, referring to the now underfunded Kenyan-led force.
The UN Security Council gave the green light in October 2023 to the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), which aims to support Haitian authorities in their fight against criminal gangs, who control large areas of the country.
Washington’s funding freeze is part of President-elect Donald Trump’s effort to cut U.S. foreign aid, a move that includes shutting down operations of the government’s main aid agency, USAID.
In late January, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Haiti’s capital could be overrun by gangs if the international community does not increase assistance to the security mission.
The international force needs more money, equipment and personnel, Guterres said, adding that any further delay would risk a “catastrophic” collapse of Haiti’s security institutions and “could allow gangs to take over the entire metropolitan area” of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Haitian Foreign Minister Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste, speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, said the country was facing “enormous challenges” that threatened not only the population but also the “survival of the state.”
The MSS is not a UN force, but the UN has established a voluntary fund to finance it, which has raised $110 million to date, an amount that has been considered woefully inadequate.
Slightly fewer than 800 of the planned 2,500 security personnel have been deployed.
The United States has transferred $15 million to the fund – the second largest contribution, after Canada’s $63 million – and $1.7 million has already been disbursed. In addition to the UN fund, the United States, then led by Joe Biden, had contributed more than $300 million in funds and equipment directly to the MSS, including dozens of armored vehicles.
Haiti currently has no president or parliament and is governed by a transitional body, which is struggling to deal with extreme violence linked to criminal gangs, poverty and other challenges.
More than 5,626 people were killed in Haiti last year due to gang violence, about 1,000 more than in 2023, the UN said.
More than a million Haitians have been forced to flee their homes, triple the number a year ago.
