Canada to deploy naval vessels to Haiti

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Canada will send navy vessels to Haiti as violence escalates in the beleaguered Caribbean country,

Trudeau made the announcement at an annual meeting of Caribbean leaders in the Bahamas.

The move comes as Haiti faces an upswing in gang violence that has gripped the country since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.

“Right now, Haiti is confronted with unrelenting gang violence, political turmoil and corruption,” Trudeau told 15 leaders of the Caricom trade bloc. “Now is the moment to come together to confront the severity of this situation.”

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry was also at the meeting. He has begged since October for the UN Security Council to send troops but to date his plea has fallen on deaf ears.

The navy ships will be tasked with intelligence gathering and surveillance. The vessels -- no number was provided - will arrive in the coming weeks but Trudeau gave no firm date. The ships will maintain a presence off the Haitian coast.

Trudeau also said Canada will provide an additional CAN$12.3 million ($9.1 million) in humanitarian aid and another CAN$10 million ($7.4 million) to protect women and children who are clustered along the border with the Dominican Republic. The latter has deported tens of thousands of Haitian migrants, along with those of Haitian descent, in the past year.

“The toll of human suffering in Haiti weighs heavily on me,” said Trudeau.

The naval ships sailing to Haiti comes after Trudeau recently sent a surveillance plane to the Caribbean nation. That mission has ended and the plane has returned to Canada.

Trudeau also promised another CAN$44.8 million ($33.5 million) to help the Caribbean's climate change woes and CAN$1.8 million ($1.3million) to battle the illicit drug trade.