U.S. waives Haiti aid ban

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AFP) — The United States (US) said Wednesday it was making an exemption in President Donald Trump’s aid freeze to support a security mission in troubled Haiti, although some assistance was put on hold.

The announcement came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the neighboring Dominican Republic where he will discuss Haiti, a major source of migration that Trump wants to stop.

Rubio greenlighted $40.7 million in foreign assistance to benefit the Haitian National Police and the Multinational Security Support mission, a State Department spokesperson said.

“The United States has not paused all assistance for the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti,” the spokesperson said.

The United Nations (UN) said Tuesday that the US had notified it that it was pausing a contribution of $13.3 million in pending aid.

The State Department did not deny the pause but said it was a fraction of the total US contribution.

The US went ahead with a delivery on Tuesday of heavy armored equipment for the Kenyan-led mission and the police, according to the State Department.

Former President Joe Biden’s administration worked to establish the international force as part of efforts aimed at bringing stability to Haiti, where gangs had taken over much of the capital Port-au-Prince.

The Biden administration offered financing and logistical support but not to send troops, with Kenya taking the lead.

Trump, on taking over, has moved to slash US funding and has given orders to shutter the operations of the government’s main aid agency, USAID.

Rubio on his first trip has been seeking to advance Trump’s goal of stopping migration and sending back undocumented people.

El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama all offered to boost cooperation on migration on Rubio’s previous stops.

Rubio will meet Thursday with Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, who has championed a Trump-style hard line on Haitian migrants, starting work on a wall and ramping up deportations.

In late January, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Haiti’s capital could become overrun by gangs if the international community did not step up aid to the security mission.