CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo has shared more details about the United States government freezing funding for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) in Haiti.
On Thursday morning, the journalist took to social media to state that the US had not frozen all funding for the mission, as some of its support had been disbursed, according to a US State Department spokesperson.
Madowo further confirmed that the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a consignment of armoured equipment and approved waivers for $40.7 million (Ksh5.2 billion in the current exchange rate) to the MSS and Haitian National Police (HNP) on Wednesday.
"Breaking: The US has not paused all funding for Kenya-led policing MSS mission in Haiti, a State Dept spokesperson says. Secretary Rubio approved waivers for $40.7m to the MSS & Haitian National Police (HNP). The US delivered heavy armoured equipment yesterday to MSS & HNP," Madowo stated.
"The UN boss announced that the remaining $13.3m (Ksh1.7 billion in current exchange rates) provided by the US to the UN Trust Fund has been paused. The $15 million(Ksh1.9 billion in current exchange rates) provided in total to the Trust Fund is less than three per cent of the total funds that the US is providing directly to support the MSS mission, the spokesman says."
The remarks were confirmed by the US Embassy in Haiti, which released a statement on Thursday clarifying its stance on the funding of the mission.
"The United States has not paused all assistance for the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti. On the contrary, Secretary Rubio approved waivers to allow for millions of dollars in mission-critical assistance to the MSS mission and Haitian National Police (HNP)," the statement read.
This revelation comes just a day after reports came out that President Donald Trump had frozen all funding into the Kenya-led mission.
On Wednesday, February 5, reports emerged that the US had paused the disbursement of about $15 million (Ksh1.9 billion in current exchange rates) for 90 days as it reviewed its position.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei was however quick to point out that the UN Trust Fund, where the mission's funds were held would not suffer a significant blow from this move.
According to the PS, the trust fund has other donors across the world including Canada, France, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Algeria who had already pledged US$110.3 million (Ksh14.2 billion in current exchange rates) by the end of 2024.
“While un-disbursed US contribution to the Trust Fund of $15 million (Ksh1.9 billion in current exchange rates) has been paused as per presidential directive, the Fund has sufficient resources to continue underwriting the Mission until the end of September 2025,” Sing’oei stated.
Later in the day, the MSS also released a statement insisting that the MSS mission was still a priority for the US government and that any pauses were a routine part of the transition from President Joe Biden's administration to the new one.
"The MSS mission in Haiti remains a priority for the U.S. government. As with any transition in government, structural adjustments are expected. However, as part of the U.S. administration's ongoing 90-day review of development assistance, the MSS mission continues without interruption, with all necessary mechanisms in place," MSS said in a statement.
