Washington, DC – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Senator Cory Booker, today sent a letter to Secretary Rubio urging him to prioritize the security and humanitarian crisis in Haiti during his trip to Jamaica, Guyana, and Suriname. The Members urged the Secretary to advance region-wide support for a Haitian-led solution to the ongoing crisis in Haiti, insisting the United States cannot afford to sit on the sidelines of a crisis of this magnitude in our own region.
Text of the letter can be found below. A PDF copy of the letter can be found here.
Secretary Rubio,
We write to urge you to prioritize the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis in Haiti during your upcoming travel to the Caribbean. With violent gangs causing unimaginable human suffering in Haiti, and spillover impacts for regional stability and on Haitian-American communities, the United States simply cannot afford to pass up the opportunity to advance region-wide support for a Haitian-led solution to the current crisis.
Haiti is facing an unprecedented political, security, and humanitarian crisis, and cuts in U.S. foreign assistance to Haiti have made the situation worse. To be clear: abandoning our USAID and other foreign assistance programs in Haiti is a gift to the violent gangs who have exploited the country’s political instability since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Violence fueled by these gangs has driven over a million Haitians from their homes. Over 6 million people—more than half of Haiti’s population—are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The escalating violence has taken a catastrophic toll on women and children, who face heightened risks of gender-based violence and exploitation. Hospitals, schools, humanitarian organizations, and most recently, Haitian news outlets are under siege, further limiting access to essential services, information, and medical care. Failure to provide support to Haitians in need risks driving more individuals toward gangs, which control more than 85% of Port-Au-Prince.
Moreover, the crisis in Haiti directly affects the national security of the United States and that of our closest partners in the region. During your previous trip to the Dominican Republic, a partner greatly impacted by the instability in Haiti, President Abinader asserted with respect to Haiti that “the leadership of the U.S. is fundamental and there is no substitute.” We urge you to use this trip to the Caribbean to outline how the United States, and the State Department you lead, will galvanize the international community to allocate the necessary resources to stop the gangs and their elite enablers, and to help alleviate the human suffering in Haiti.
The United States cannot sit on the sidelines of a crisis of this magnitude in our own region. Failure to act risks furthering the humanitarian crisis to the point where gangs control the entire capital, and the United States, along with its partners in the region, are responding to a mass migration event. Constructive engagement with our CARICOM partners will be an important first step to detail and build key partners’ support for the Administration’s plan to improve the humanitarian, political, and security crises in Haiti. Thank you for your attention to this critical issue, and we look forward to hearing a readout of your timely and important trip to the Caribbean.
Text of the letter can be found below. A PDF copy of the letter can be found here.
Secretary Rubio,
We write to urge you to prioritize the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis in Haiti during your upcoming travel to the Caribbean. With violent gangs causing unimaginable human suffering in Haiti, and spillover impacts for regional stability and on Haitian-American communities, the United States simply cannot afford to pass up the opportunity to advance region-wide support for a Haitian-led solution to the current crisis.
Haiti is facing an unprecedented political, security, and humanitarian crisis, and cuts in U.S. foreign assistance to Haiti have made the situation worse. To be clear: abandoning our USAID and other foreign assistance programs in Haiti is a gift to the violent gangs who have exploited the country’s political instability since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Violence fueled by these gangs has driven over a million Haitians from their homes. Over 6 million people—more than half of Haiti’s population—are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The escalating violence has taken a catastrophic toll on women and children, who face heightened risks of gender-based violence and exploitation. Hospitals, schools, humanitarian organizations, and most recently, Haitian news outlets are under siege, further limiting access to essential services, information, and medical care. Failure to provide support to Haitians in need risks driving more individuals toward gangs, which control more than 85% of Port-Au-Prince.
Moreover, the crisis in Haiti directly affects the national security of the United States and that of our closest partners in the region. During your previous trip to the Dominican Republic, a partner greatly impacted by the instability in Haiti, President Abinader asserted with respect to Haiti that “the leadership of the U.S. is fundamental and there is no substitute.” We urge you to use this trip to the Caribbean to outline how the United States, and the State Department you lead, will galvanize the international community to allocate the necessary resources to stop the gangs and their elite enablers, and to help alleviate the human suffering in Haiti.
The United States cannot sit on the sidelines of a crisis of this magnitude in our own region. Failure to act risks furthering the humanitarian crisis to the point where gangs control the entire capital, and the United States, along with its partners in the region, are responding to a mass migration event. Constructive engagement with our CARICOM partners will be an important first step to detail and build key partners’ support for the Administration’s plan to improve the humanitarian, political, and security crises in Haiti. Thank you for your attention to this critical issue, and we look forward to hearing a readout of your timely and important trip to the Caribbean.