Haiti has fought for stability for years, but a new confrontation could change the course of its security crisis. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, known internationally for his aggressive campaign against violent gangs, has announced a military rescue operation after four Salvadoran military personnel reportedly disappeared following an attack near Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
Now the world is watching to see if Bukele will bring the same approach that worked so well in El Salvador to Haiti. There’s a much bigger question we should be asking, though. If the Haitian state is incapable of protecting its people from violent criminal organizations, then is it right for the international community to be having meetings and issuing statements as innocent people are being murdered? Shouldn’t we allow those who are willing and able to step in and help restore order?
Four Missing Soldiers And A President’s Warning
On 18 October, four Salvadoran military aviation technicians were reportedly the subject of an attack as they were traveling through Croix-des-Bouquets (an area near Port-au-Prince where armed gangs have a very strong presence). Their vehicle was reportedly attacked and set alight, and the men had to escape. They have since gone missing.
Bukele said the Salvadoran personnel were supporting a medical evacuation as part of an international security mission. They were not engaged in an offensive combat operation at the time of the attack. Their role was to assist a country already in crisis in its ability to provide basic security and emergency services.
On 21 October, Bukele announced a rescue operation and told those responsible to bring the men back alive and unharmed. That statement raised the prospect of a more robust Salvadoran military response, though the extent of any further operation is not clear.
The President Who Confronted El Salvador’s Gangs
Bukele’s international reputation is built on his government’s campaign against MS-13, Barrio 18 and other violent gangs. For years these gangs ran the neighborhoods, ran the protection rackets, recruited the youth and terrorized families. In some cases, the gangs were in fact more in control of people’s lives than the state itself.
From 2022 onwards, Bukele has been ramping up security operations under a state of emergency. Tens of thousands of suspected gang members have been arrested, prisons have been expanded, and security forces have been deployed throughout the country. Homicides have reportedly plummeted, and many Salvadorans have seen a real improvement in their sense of security.
However, the results have been contentious. HR organizations have recorded numerous allegations of arbitrary arrest, deaths in custody, and due process violations. Critics maintain that Bukele’s government has eroded constitutional safeguards by concentrating power.
Those concerns are certainly worth looking at, but so too is the fact that for generations violent gangs have been terrorizing the communities of El Salvador. Public safety and government accountability aren’t two competing issues. People have a right to be safe from criminals, and that doesn’t mean they have to surrender their basic rights.
Haiti’s Gangs Are Holding A Nation Hostage
Haiti’s situation is so much more than just street crime. Armed gangs have established control over territories, have attacked state institutions, have disrupted transport and have driven families from their homes. In some areas, gangs have effectively determined who can go, who can do business, and who can get anything at all.
International reporting puts the figure at around 70% of Port-au-Prince being under gang control, and nearly 1.5 million Haitians have been displaced as a result of the violence. That’s families who have lost their homes, kids who can’t go to school, and businesses that can’t function without the constant threat of extortion.
Think about what that does to the economy of a country. How on earth do you start a business when criminals run the roads? How do you build generational wealth when your property is under constant threat? How can a government ever attract investment when it can’t guarantee the safety of its citizens?
No security, and you simply can’t develop economically. Education opportunities vanish, and families are left in survival mode. Haiti can’t build a future for itself whilst armed criminals have control of its communities.
Can Bukele’s Methods Work In Haiti
Some will look at El Salvador’s falling homicide figures and say Haiti needs the same aggressive approach. After years of gang violence, that argument is going to be very appealing to those who feel that the international community has spent far too long on the talk and not enough on the action.
But Haiti is not El Salvador. Bukele carried out his crackdown through the military, the police, the prisons and the various government institutions. Haiti is in a far deeper institutional crisis, with the security forces themselves struggling against well-armed organizations and having to rely on international assistance.
Military operations can disrupt the gangs, but security can only be maintained through working courts, properly trained police, good intelligence, and effective prosecution. If you take the gangs out of the area without having the institutions of the state in place, then they’re going to come back.
Haiti needs sustainable security, not yet another temporary military victory. Any international operation must also protect the civilian population and enable the Haitians to take back control of their own country.
Why International Intervention Has Failed To Deliver Lasting Security
Haiti has been the subject of numerous foreign interventions, peacekeeping missions, humanitarian programs and international assistance initiatives. It is still plagued by political instability, corruption, poverty and armed violence.
That history raises a very uncomfortable question. How much money has been spent in an attempt to stabilize Haiti, and what proportion of that money has actually resulted in any real improvement for the average Haitian?
International assistance should be judged on results, not on statements. Are the communities safer? Are the schools open? Are the businesses operating? Is the criminal element losing ground? Are the Haitian police getting the resources they need to maintain order?
Deploying more troops is of little use if the Haitian families are still trapped in their own communities. The objective should be a Haitian government that can protect its own people without being perpetually reliant on foreign military intervention.
What Black America Should Understand About Haiti
Black America needs to understand Haiti’s struggle. In 1804, Haiti became the first black republic in the world, having defeated the French colonial regime and liberated itself from slavery. The revolution proved that people denied their freedom could, in fact, create an independent nation.
That history is worth respecting, but respecting Haiti does not mean ignoring the problems it faces today. Political corruption, weak institutions, economic instability, foreign interference, and gang violence have all undermined the independence that the Haitians so desperately fought for.
Haiti is also directly connected to Black communities in the US. Haitian Americans have families, businesses, churches, and community groups all over the US in New York, Florida, Massachusetts, and so on. What’s happening in Haiti affects people in our own communities.
For Black America, Haiti’s situation should be a catalyst for a serious debate about political freedom and economic independence. Independence is not merely about having a flag, an anthem, and a set of elected officials. Independence means having the institutions, infrastructure, and economic base to protect your people.
THE PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE: IF BUKELE HAS THE BALLS TO DO WHAT HAITI’S GOVERNMENT CANNOT, LET HIM!
I’m sick of the international meetings, the humanitarian pledges, the political posturing, and all the while the people of Haiti are still suffering. How many more people are going to be murdered, abducted, uprooted, and terrorized before someone actually does something? Haiti has been in crisis for years, and the Government has utterly failed in its most fundamental duty: to protect its own people.
If anyone can get the job done and Bukele has the guts and the spine to do what the Haitian government has utterly failed to do, then let him. I’m not in any position to be fiddling with the feelings of politicians or international organizations who have watched this country rot in their hands and produced absolutely nothing of any real substance. All I want is for Haitian families to be safe, for businesses to operate, for kids to be in school, and for ordinary people to go about their lives without fear.
Let’s stop pretending that sovereignty means anything to people who can’t even safely walk through their own neighborhoods. Haiti’s independence should mean that its people are free to live, work, own property, and raise families without criminals running their lives. International assistance should help restore that freedom, protect civilians, and strengthen Haitian institutions.
Another reality that American politicians simply don’t talk about is that many Haitians have come to this country looking for safety and economic opportunity as conditions in Haiti have become utterly intolerable. It’s time to fix Haiti so Haitians in America have a safe country to return to, rebuild in, invest in, and be proud of. That means creating the conditions for safe and voluntary return, not just forcing people back into a situation of violence.
Haiti doesn’t need another generation of people out there thinking that the only way to survive is to leave home. What it needs is security, jobs, schools that actually work, accountable, leadership, and an economy where people can build wealth rather than rely on foreign aid.
I’m not calling Bukele Haiti’s savior in any way whatsoever. I’m not suggesting a military solution will fix everything. But if he has shown that he can deal with the violent gangs and is prepared to help Haiti achieve what its own leadership has utterly failed to do, then why should we just automatically oppose him?
No more excuses, no more political rhetoric,, and no more international conferences that result in utterly meaningless promises. If Bukele has the nous to go head-to-head with Haiti’s gangs and actually bring law and order back to the country, then let him do it.
It’s time to make Haiti safe again for the people of Haiti today and for Haitians in America who are entitled to the chance to go back to a safe, prosperous, and independent Haiti.
