The United States President Donald Trump's administration has announced plans to form the Gang Suppression Force to curb the escalating gang violence in Haiti and is seeking its approval by the United Nations.
The announcement was made on Thursday, August 28, by Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea during the UN Security Council meeting held in New York.
During the meeting, Shea commended the Kenyan police in Haiti for leading the Multinational Security Support mission and for answering Haiti's call at a critical moment.
She noted that without the Kenya-led MSS mission, the gangs would have been even more emboldened in their ambitions to commit atrocities against the citizens.
The Ambassador revealed that plans were underway by the US and Panama governments for the circulation of a draft resolution to the UN Security Council for the establishment of the Gang Suppression Force.
Shea went ahead to urge the international community to join hands with the US and other countries, which have shown goodwill to help eradicate gang violence in the Caribbean nation.
However, she did not provide any clarification as to whether the police officers who work under the MSS would be part of the new anti-gang force.
Nonetheless, sources privy to the information suggest that the MSS mission would be transformed to the Gang Suppression Force with a significant increase in size and logistical support.
The latest development comes amid reports that a former US Navy SEAL, Erik Prince's security firm, was planning to deploy over 200 personnel to deal with the gang violence.
The deployment is expected to help the Haitian government recover vast territories seized by the gangs and which are currently under their control.
The security firm, known as Vectus Globa and which provides logistics, infrastructure, security assistance and defence, is run by Prince, a close ally of President Trump.
Meanwhile, the first Kenyan police arrived in Haiti in June 2024, with the officers currently below 1000 personnel despite initial plans to have them at 2500 before the end of 2025.
