Flaming tires seen early on February 11, 2019, in the streets of Hinche in the center of Haiti. (Wikipedia Commons)

By Gary  Raynaldo    –   DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED  NATIONS  –    NEW   YORK  –    UN Secretary-General António Guterres  on Monday said he remains gravely concerned about the deadly violence gripping Haiti. The Secretary-General also called for members of the UN Security Council to consider Haiti’s request for an immediate international military intervention to stabilize the country.   A group of violent gangs has blocked the Carribean nation’s main fuel terminal, Varreux  since September, causing shortages of basic supplies like water and food. Steep hikes in fuel prices have sparked protests across Haiti.  Hundreds of residents have been killed and thousands of others forced by their homes by the violence. 

“He (UN Secretary General) reiterated that the blockage of the Varreux fuel terminal has brought critical services required to prevent the rapid spread of cholera to a stand-still, including the distribution of potable water. Again, he said, the most vulnerable are hit the hardest and the priority must be to save lives.   He urged the international community, including the members of the Security Council, to consider as a matter of urgency the request by the Haitian Government for the immediate deployment of an international specialized armed force to address the humanitarian crisis, including securing the free movement of water, fuel, food and medical supplies from main ports and airports to communities and health care facilities.”

-UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric 

(Photo by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times)  Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, briefs reporters at UN world headquarters in New York. 

Another U.S. Military Intervention of Haiti on the Horizon?

Soldiers of  United States  C Company, 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry, 10th Mountain Division securing Port-au-Prince Airport on the first day of Operation Uphold Democracy Sept. 22, 1994.  (Credit: Wikipedia Commons /Nobunaga24)

The Haitian government over the weekend, authorised Prime Minister Ariel Henry to request armed help due to “the risk of a major humanitarian crisis”.   He said foreign assistance is required  to neutralizing the out of control criminal gangs.  Compounding the dire situation in Haiti is the re-emergence of cholera a decade after an epidemic that killed thousands.  However, many fear the Haitian government’s plead for foreign assistance could create another U.S. military intervention.  In 1994,  Operation Uphold Democracy was a military intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d’état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was  authorized by the 31 July 1994 United Nations Security Council Resolution 940.  The U.S. military played a significant role in the Operation.  The invasion force numbered nearly 25,000 military personnel from all services, backed by two aircraft carriers and extensive air support.  White House and State Department officials acknowledged Friday that a flurry of conversations had taken place over the past week over the deteriorating situation across Haiti.  Nearly a decade after the 1994 U.S. intervention, Haiti’s constitutional order collapsed, and there was another American intervention. 

However, violence and  unrest has continued in Haiti up until this day. And Haiti remains the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.