https://www.reuters.com/world/canada-sends-armored-vehicles-haiti-fight-gang-violence-2023-01-11/
Amidst the Caribbean humanitarian crisis, Canada has delivered armored vehicles to the nation of Haiti to help the police combat criminal gang activity, which rose in 2021 after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. There have been hundreds of deaths over turf wars and other gun battles in the past two years, and the gang activity has spread to affect the country’s economic status by blocking a fuel terminal for nearly six weeks. Haiti requested a “specialized armed force”, but so far has only received weapons and strategic sanctions on actors linked to gang activity as aid for its internal issues.
American efforts to prevent the escalation of violence or chaos in Haiti show elements of offshore balancing and containment strategies. They are acting in their national interest to sustain trust between nations and prevent conflict in the western hemisphere while also remaining offshore by using remote techniques for aid. Since internal conflicts in the caribbean don’t necessarily affect the Americas directly, the effort is mostly placed on containment and prevention rather than complete de-escalation, as reflected in Justin Trudeau’s quote from Wednesday: “We’re all very aware that things could get worse in Haiti and that’s why Canada and partners, including the United States, are preparing various scenarios if it does start to get worse,”. He also claimed the issue must be solved domestically during the North American Leaders Summit, which also hosted prominent leaders Joe Biden and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.