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3h ago

U.S. and Panama Seek U.N. Mandate for Haiti Gang Suppression Force and Support Office

The effort aims to fix the logistical gaps that have hobbled the Kenya‑led deployment.

Police officers patrol the area near the Saint-Helene orphanage in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
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General view of people standing at a shelter at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which houses individuals displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Jean Feguens Regala/File Photo

Overview

  • Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said Washington and Panama will table a draft Security Council resolution to stand up a dedicated gang suppression force and a U.N. Support Office in Haiti.
  • The support office would provide ground logistics and sustained resourcing intended to give the mission the capacity to hold territory and secure key infrastructure.
  • The current U.N.-backed, largely Kenyan force remains under 1,000 personnel and under-resourced, and it is unclear how the new proposal would align with that mission after past resistance to converting it into a U.N. peacekeeping operation.
  • U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged tougher enforcement of the arms embargo, with U.N. reporting that most weapons used by Haitian armed groups are trafficked from Florida.
  • UNICEF reported a 700% surge in child recruitment in early 2025 and estimated children now constitute about half of gang members, while internal displacement has reached roughly 1.3 million and Haiti has turned to Erik Prince’s Vectus for drone support.