Canadian Navy Ships to Carry Out Intelligence Mission in Haiti

During the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting held in the Bahamas on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his country will send two warships to Haiti to help fight urban gangs by gathering intelligence.

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More specifically, these Canadian warships will have as their main mission to conduct "surveillance, gather intelligence, and maintain a maritime presence off the Haitian coast in the coming weeks," as reported by AFP.

This announcement came shortly after the Canadian surveillance plane CP-140 Aurora returned to its country after conducting an intelligence mission for Haitian police.

“Right now, Haiti is confronted with unrelenting gang violence, political turmoil and corruption, Now is the moment to come together to confront the severity of this situation,” said Trudeau, as reported by AP agency.

At the CARICOM meeting, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry once again requested an international military intervention to control the internal security situation in his country.

On Thursday, Trudeau also announced the imposition of sanctions to affect those responsible for the current violence and instability in Haiti and to interrupt arms trafficking to gangs. 

These sanctions package would target 14 people, including Jocelerme Privert, a former senator who served as interim president, and Salim Succar, who was chief of staff under Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. They will not be allowed to do business with Canada.

For its part, the U.S. Department of State announced visa restrictions for 12 Haitian citizens. Since October 2022, Canada has sanctioned 17 Haitians and the United States 44 people. They have been accused of being related to the financing of urban gangs, acts of corruption, and money laundering, Alter Presse recalled.

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