Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday at an annual meeting of Caribbean leaders that his government will deploy Royal Canadian Navy vessels to Haiti to conduct surveillance and gather intelligence in upcoming weeks.
The move comes shortly after a Canadian Armed Forces surveillance plane returned from a similar assignment in Haiti, which is battling a surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings blamed on gangs that have become more powerful since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
“Right now, Haiti is confronted with unrelenting gang violence, political turmoil and corruption,” Trudeau said at a Caricom meeting in the Bahamas where leaders of the 15-member trade bloc were gathered.
Also attending the meeting was Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who in October had requested the immediate deployment of foreign troops, a plea that the UN Security Council has yet to address.
