Biden orders $60 million released for Kenya-led mission to help Haiti battle gangs

Moments after Haiti made a new transitional presidential council official on Friday, the Biden administration ordered the release of $60 million in assistance for the beleaguered country, most of which will go towards equipment and training for a multinational police force to be headed by Kenya to help the Haitian police force battle gangs.

The order by President Joe Biden came shortly after a new nine-member transitional presidential council became official with the publication of an executive order in Port-au-Prince by Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s government, establishing the new governing framework.

State Department Matthew Miller, in welcoming the formation of the new transitional presidential council and the United States’ commitment to its mission, acknowledged late Thursday that “the United States is surging support for the Haitian security forces to bolster their capabilities as they fight to defend their country.”

The Biden administration, which supports the deployment of Kenyan police officers to assist Haitian police combat ruthless armed gangs sowing chaos in the country, has faced congressional roadblocks despite pledging $300 million towards the mission. To get around some of the resistance, Biden used a little known executive executive power known as Presidential Drawdown Authority. The authority was established under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, and Biden has been using it to get around congressional resistance to funding weapons for Ukraine.

The equipment, which can come from the stockpiles of any U.S. government agency, and the training from the Defense Department, will help get the Multinational Security Support mission off the ground. The mission has been on hold since Henry, under pressure from Washington, announced his resignation on March 11. Kenya, which is supposed to deploy 1,000 of its police officers to serve as the backbone of the force, has said that it would not deploy its officers to Haiti unless the funding was in place.

Both the United States and the United Nations, which established a trust fund for Haiti, have struggled to raise the money. A U.N. trust fund only has $10.8 million despite pledges of assistance from several nations. Top Republicans in the House and Senate have expressed skepticism about the mission and refused to approve $40 million of the $100 million the State Department has pledged. The Pentagon, which is supposed to be building a base in Haiti for the mission, has separately pledged $200 million.

Last month, Biden tapped the presidential authority power to get $10 million in weapons and ammunition into the hands of the Haiti National Police. Under that authorization, the Armed Forces of Haiti, in a first, will receive bulletproof vests from the administration.