The United Nations Security Council has voted to establish a powerful new international mission in Haiti, replacing the struggling Kenya-led force with a more muscular mandate to confront armed gangs that have tightened their grip on the Caribbean nation.
The resolution, which passed with twelve votes in favor and three abstentions from Russia, China, and Pakistan, authorizes the creation of a 5,500-strong Gang Suppression Force made up of soldiers, police officers, and civilian support staff. It will operate for an initial twelve-month period, backed by a new UN office in Port-au-Prince and logistical support from the Organization of American States.
Unlike the current Multinational Security Support Mission—launched under Kenya’s leadership in 2024 but hampered by understaffing, weak logistics, and scarce funding—the new force is designed to act with greater autonomy. It has been granted the authority to detain suspected gang members, secure vital infrastructure such as ports, schools, and hospitals, and directly support Haiti’s fragile state institutions. In effect, it marks a shift from limited policing support to direct combat against gangs that now control an estimated ninety percent of the capital.
Participation is expected from Kenya, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Jamaica, with the United States and Canada also weighing involvement. However, while Kenya will continue to contribute, the leadership mantle is likely to move toward a more collective model, reducing Nairobi’s once-central role and spreading command responsibility among a coalition of contributing states.
The decision reflects growing international frustration over the faltering Kenyan-led mission, which never reached half its planned strength of 2,500 personnel. For many Haitians, it offered hope but delivered little change as gangs expanded their reach and violence displaced more than 1.3 million people, paralyzed governance, and delayed long-overdue elections.
Western backers, led by the United States and Panama, pushed hard for a stronger mandate, arguing that only a larger, better-resourced mission could restore order and give Haiti’s transitional authorities space to rebuild state functions. Haitian officials welcomed the new force, describing it as a critical intervention to restore sovereignty in a country where the rule of law has all but collapsed.
Still, risks abound. Funding remains voluntary, raising fears of another under-resourced intervention. Critics, including Russia and China, warn that vague definitions of “gangs” and loosely defined rules of engagement could lead to abuses or mission creep. Analysts also caution that without tighter controls on the flow of weapons into Haiti, no foreign force will succeed where others have failed.
For now, the creation of the Gang Suppression Force represents the most ambitious international intervention in Haiti in nearly a decade. In the coming weeks, attention will turn to which countries actually deploy troops, how quickly the force arrives, and whether this new chapter will bring relief to a population battered by relentless violence—or become another entry in Haiti’s long history of foreign interventions that promised more than they delivered.
