Haiti

As foreign troops set to deploy to Haiti again, Jake Johnston argues that there is another way: to build something new, Haiti doesn’t need war. It needs peace.

It’s been nearly a decade since Haitians last went to the polls to elect a president. Even then, barely one in five participated. In a country with a majority of the population under 25 years of age, this means that, for most Haitians, voting for one’s leaders is a privilege never before experienced.

The two superficially contradictory developments — the consolidation of the private sector’s hold over government and the targeting of the private sector for sanctions and law enforcement action — have set off a wave of DC-based lobbying activity in recent months.

Ever since the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, Jake Johnston, CEPR’s Director of International Research, has tracked multinational aid efforts in Haiti with an eye to ensuring they are oriented toward the needs of the Haitian people — and not used to undermine Haitians’ right to self-determination.

Despite being sanctioned by Canada for corruption, Haitian businessman Salim Antonio Succar’s firm Klean-X S.A. has continued receiving lucrative contracts from the US, Canadian, and UN agencies—including over $1.4 million from the US Embassy in Haiti—raising serious questions about enforcement and coordination of international sanctions policy.

CEPR’s Jake Johnston warns in interviews with The New York Times, Miami Herald, and Associated Press that the US designation of Haitian gangs Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif as “foreign terrorist organizations” risks deepening Haiti’s humanitarian crisis by hindering aid and commerce.

The New York Times talked to Jake Johnston about what cuts to USAID programs mean for Haiti, where public institutions and health infrastructure have been targeted by armed groups.

Discover the significance of USAID spending in Haiti and its implications for US foreign policy. Get expert analysis from Jake Johnston.

Jake Johnston and Velina Charlier joined in this discussion about the book ‘Aid State’ and its relevance to the current state of Haiti.

Though the company said it was acting strictly in an advisory capacity, the contractors have allegedly directly participated in police operations.