5 Things to Remember When the U.S. Invades Haiti Again

Let’s call the “multinational task force” what it is.

Photo by Bailey Torres on Unsplash

If you haven’t been following the latest out of Haiti, that’s not really your fault. The extreme political and humanitarian crisis now gripping the country is hardly considered headline news on this side of the Caribbean Sea. If you look for it, you’ll see some headlines filter through about how just how bad things have gotten in Haiti: an extreme shortage of fuel has paralyzed the country’s basic institutions like schools and hospitals. Hundreds of gangs have seized control of territory across the country and are waging quasi-warfare in the streets. The cholera epidemic has returned. People are starving. Prices are skyrocketing. Protests are rocking the cities daily.

Once again, the news tells us: Haiti is on the brink of collapse.

As the situation in Haiti has grown increasingly apocalyptic, our government here in the U.S. has shifted its stance. Previously, the Biden administration favored a nominally hands-off approach, but insisted on continuing support for Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who seized power after the assassination of then-President Jovenel Moïse last year. Now, the Biden administration is favoring collaboration on a “multinational task force” at the behest of Henry’s government.

Let’s be very clear on this: in this circumstance, “multinational task force” is a euphemism for “foreign military intervention.” Henry is requesting armed troops from the U.S. be sent into Haiti to prop up his government. The Washington Post has been overjoyed at this, and speaks of foreign intervention as though it’s some long-awaited prize Biden has been denying the world.

Here’s why you may want to rethink that viewpoint:

1. “Haiti” did not call for foreign intervention. Ariel Henry did.

If there is only one thing you remember from this article, let it be this.

The request for foreign military intervention came from Ariel Henry’s administration to help it battle Haiti’s gangs for control of the country. This desire is not necessarily shared by a majority of Haitians. In fact, numerous civil society organizations such as medical…