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Blinken attends urgent meeting with Caribbean leaders as Haiti’s violent crisis grows

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica on Monday in an urgent push to solve the spiraling crisis in Haiti, while pressure grows on Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign or agree to a transitional council. The closed-door meeting did not include Henry, who has been locked out of his own country while traveling abroad, due to surging unrest and violence by criminal gangs who have overrun much of Haiti’s capital and closed down its main international airports.

Quick Read

  • U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica to address Haiti’s crisis.
  • The meeting aims to explore solutions for Haiti, amid calls for Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation or the formation of a transitional council.
  • Henry’s attendance at the meeting is uncertain due to ongoing violence in Haiti.
  • Caricom has been advocating for a peaceful political transition in Haiti but acknowledges the challenges in reaching a consensus.
  • Haiti has been plagued by gang attacks targeting government infrastructure, leading to widespread violence and disruption.
  • The situation has resulted in numerous deaths, thousands displaced, and severe shortages of food and water.
  • Prime Minister Henry, currently outside Haiti, faces increasing pressure to step down as the crisis escalates.

The Associated Press has the story:

Blinken attends urgent meeting with Caribbean leaders as Haiti’s violent crisis grows

Newslooks- KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) —

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica on Monday in an urgent push to solve the spiraling crisis in Haiti, while pressure grows on Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign or agree to a transitional council.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the Pegasus Hotel during a meeting on Haiti at the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Kingston, Jamaica, v

The closed-door meeting did not include Henry, who has been locked out of his own country while traveling abroad, due to surging unrest and violence by criminal gangs who have overrun much of Haiti’s capital and closed down its main international airports.

Henry remained in Puerto Rico and was taking steps to return to Haiti once feasible, according to a brief statement from the U.S. territory’s Department of State.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a bilateral meeting with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the Pegasus Hotel ahead of the emergency meeting on Haiti at the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, Pool via AP)

The meeting was organized by members of a regional trade bloc known as Caricom, which for months has pressed for a transitional government in Haiti while protests in the country have demanded Henry’s resignation.

An armed member of the G9 and Family gang rolls a tire to burn at a roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

“The international community must work together with Haitians towards a peaceful political transition,” U.S. Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Nichols will attend the meeting.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from right, speaks with Jamaica’s Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, second from left, before a meeting on Haiti at the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, Pool via AP)

It was not clear if Henry, locked out of his own country after surging violence at home, would attend the closed-door meeting. It was organized by members of a regional trade bloc known as Caricom who for months have pressed for a transitional government in Haiti as protests demanded Henry’s resignation.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards a plane, Monday, March 11, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to Kingston, Jamaica for emergency talks with Caribbean leaders on Haiti’s crisis. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)

“The international community must work together with Haitians towards a peaceful political transition,” U.S. Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Nichols will attend the meeting.

But concerns remain that a long-awaited solution might not be found.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the Pegasus Hotel during a meeting on Haiti at the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, Pool via AP)

Mia Mottley, Barbados’ prime minister, said that up to 90% of proposals that Haitian stakeholders have “put on the table” are similar. These include an “urgent need” to create a presidential council to help identify a new prime minister to establish a government.

Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who leads the G9 and Family gang, adjusts his weapon as he speaks to journalists in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Her comments were briefly streamed by Caricom, in what appeared to have been a mistake, and then were abruptly cut off.

Armed members of the G9 and Family gang stand guard at their roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

The meeting was held as powerful gangs continued to attack key government targets across Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince. Since Feb. 29, gunmen have burned police stations, closed the main international airports and raided the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

FILE – Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry attends a public lecture at the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, March 1, 2024. The prime minister had traveled to Kenya to push for the U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country to fight gangs in Haiti. Henry, who is facing calls to resign or form a transitional council, remains unable to return home. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, File)

“Whilst we are making considerable progress, the stakeholders are not yet where they need to be,” Caricom said in a statement Friday announcing the urgent meeting in Jamaica.

An armed member of the G9 and Family gang patrols a roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Attacks by powerful gangs on key government targets began Feb. 29 across Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince. Gunmen have burned police stations, closed the main international airports and raided the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

Residents gather near the body of a suspected gang member shot dead by police during an attack on the National Palace, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, March 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Scores of people have been killed, and more than 15,000 people are homeless after fleeing neighborhoods raided by gangs. Food and water are dwindling as stands and stores selling to impoverished Haitians run out of goods. The main port in Port-au-Prince remains closed, stranding dozens of containers with critical supplies.

Henry remains locked out of his country, landing in Puerto Rico last week after being denied entry into the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

Members of the General Security Unit of the National Palace, USGPN, set up a security perimeter around one of the three downtown stations after police fought off an attack by gangs the day before, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, March 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

When the attacks began, Henry was in Kenya pushing for the U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country that has been delayed by a court ruling.

A growing number of people are demanding the resignation of Henry, who has not issued any public comment since the attacks began.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the Pegasus Hotel during a meeting on Haiti at the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, Pool via AP)

The U.N. Security Council on Monday urged Haiti’s gangs “to immediately cease their destabilizing actions,” including sexual violence and the recruitment of children, and said it expects that a multinational force will deploy as soon as possible to help end the violence. It urged the international community to support the Haitian National Police by backing the force’s deployment.

Members of the G9 and Family gang speak to each other while standing guard at their roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Council members also expressed concern at the limited political progress and urged all political actors to allow free and fair legislative and presidential elections.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, poses for a photo with Jamaica’s Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, right, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness and U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica N. Nick Perry, left, during a meeting on Haiti at the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, Pool via AP)

A U.N. delegation attending Monday’s meeting includes the secretary-general’s chief of staff Courtenay Rattray, Undersecretary-General Atul Khare, who is in charge of U.N. logistics, and Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča, who is in charge of the Americas in the U.N. political office.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica, N. Nick Perry, left, as he arrives at Norman Manley International Airport, in Kingston, Jamaica, Monday, March 11, 2024. Blinken is scheduled to meet with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica as part of an urgent push to solve Haiti’s spiraling crisis. Monday’s meeting comes as pressure grows on Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign or agree to a transitional council. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for the urgent deployment of the multinational force and that the mission be adequately funded, said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Currently, funding is at only $10.8 million, with officials in Kenya demanding more than $230 million.

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