SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥 The Organization of American States came under pressure Thursday to help quash gang violence in Haiti as a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police in the troubled Caribbean country struggles with a lack of funds and personnel.
A U.S. Department of State official attending an OAS meeting on Haiti鈥檚 security crisis said that the Washington-based group has a critical role to play in the nation.
鈥淢uch more can and should be done,鈥 said Barbara Feinstein, deputy assistant secretary for Caribbean Affairs and Haiti at the U.S. State Department鈥檚 Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
Feinstein echoed comments made by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Haiti.
鈥淲hy do we have an OAS, if the OAS can鈥檛 put together a mission to handle the most critical region in our hemisphere?鈥 Rubio said Wednesday as he proposed building a mission with regional partners. 鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful to the Kenyans, but this is a regional problem, and it should have a regional solution.鈥
OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro on Thursday acknowledged that the Kenya-led mission was struggling and said that the organization was working on new initiatives.
鈥淭here is a need for a new structure for the mission,鈥 he said.
Last year, the U.S. and Haiti called for it to be replaced with a U.N. peacekeeping mission, but the U.N. Security Council .
鈥楢 wave of indignation鈥
Thursday鈥檚 OAS meeting was held just hours after gangs launched another attack in Haiti鈥檚 central Artibonite region.
Gunmen stormed a church in Pr茅val, killing 22 people, including an 86-year-old pastor who was beheaded, according to Bertide Horace, spokesperson for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite.
鈥淭his tragedy has sparked a wave of indignation throughout the country,鈥 she told The Associated Press, adding that the victims called for help, but that neither police nor officers with the Kenya-led mission responded.
Kenya鈥檚 OAS representative, Jayne Toroitich, said that while the mission has made considerable progress in Haiti despite ongoing challenges, Haitian police need more training and that the mission more money and personnel.
Only 1,000 out of the 2,500 personnel envisioned by the U.N. Security are currently in Haiti. In addition, the mission is operating at only 30% of its capability in terms of equipment, the representative said.
The OAS meeting was held a day after Jimmy Ch茅rizier, a former elite police officer who became one of Haiti鈥檚 most powerful gang leaders, pleaded with people from the Delmas 30 neighborhood in the capital, Port-au-Prince, to let armed men through, so that they could overthrow Haiti鈥檚 prime minister and its transitional presidential council.
鈥淚 need the road to get to the prime minister鈥檚 office,鈥 he said in a video posted Wednesday on social media.
Ch茅rizier, best known as 鈥淏arbecue,鈥 is among the leader of a powerful gang coalition called , which last year forced as it attacked dozens of critical state infrastructure sites and forced Haiti鈥檚 main international airport to close .
A plea for more help
Gangs that control at least 85% of Port-au-Prince also have seized a significant amount of territory in recent months.
鈥淓very day, these gangs are gaining more territory,鈥 said Patrick P茅lissier, Haiti鈥檚 minister of justice and public security.
More than 5,600 people were killed across Haiti last year, and more than 1,600 others from January to end of March, according to the U.N. Gang violence also has left more than 1 million people homeless .
P茅lissier noted that Haiti鈥檚 National Police is severely understaffed 鈥 there is one officer for every 12,000 residents. He said that intelligence and counterintelligence also is greatly lacking.
Jean-Michel Mo茂se, Haiti鈥檚 defense minister, echoed those concerns.
The military has about 1,000 members with limited training, he said.
鈥淭hey are unable, still now, to effectively (fight) the gangs, which are very strong, very well armed, very well financed,鈥 Mo茂se said. 鈥淗aiti is on the brink of being fully controlled by criminal gangs, and we cannot allow that to happen.鈥
He called on the OAS and the international community to help train military officers and new recruits.
鈥淭he army is very small, very embryonic,鈥 he said, adding that the current urban warfare in Haiti is overwhelming them. 鈥淭hey were not prepared for this kind of challenge.鈥
Mo茂se said the government didn’t expect gangs to become so powerful after President Jovenel Mo茂se at his private residence.
He and other Haitian officials noted that the ongoing gang violence is fueled by the , many of which come from the U.S.
Mo茂se and P茅lissier thanked the OAS and the international community for their support so far, but stressed that much more is needed.
鈥淗aiti 鈥 needs this solidarity to be translated into concrete actions,鈥 P茅lissier said. 鈥淭he problem that we have in front of us today is huge.鈥
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Evens Sanon contributed to this report from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
