PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Haiti’s interim government has asked the U.S. and U.N. to deploy troops to protect key infrastructure as it tries to stabilize the country and prepare for elections in the aftermath of President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination.
The stunning request for U.S. military support recalled the tumult following Haiti’s last presidential assassination, in 1915, when an angry mob dragged President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam out of the French Embassy and beat him to death. In response, President Woodrow Wilson sent the Marines into Haiti, justifying the American military occupation – which lasted nearly two decades – as a way to avert anarchy.
Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s elections minister, defended the government’s request military assistance, saying in an interview Saturday with The Associated Press that the local police force is weak and lacks resources.
“What do we do? Do we let the country fall into chaos? Private properties destroyed? People killed after the assassination of the president? Or, as a government, do we prevent?” he said. “We’re not asking for the occupation of the country. We’re asking for small troops to assist and help us. … As long as we are weak, I think we will need our neighbors.”
The request was received but there has been no decision, according to a US official familiar, speaking on condition of anonymity because not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. But the Biden administration has so far given no indication it will send troops.