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Hostage release is proof the cavalry is not coming to Haiti | Editorial

Miami Herald - 12/20/2021

Whether or not 12 captured North American missionaries escaped or were intentionally let go by their Haitian captors after a hefty ransom was allegedly paid is up for discussion days after their release.

But one thing appears to be clear: The cavalry, namely the U.S. government, did not rescue the American and Canadian missionaries captured two months ago by a powerful Haitian gang.

Here’s proof: the release of the missionaries seems to have surprised the FBI agents, who had been in Haiti since the abduction offering guidance to Haitian authorities as the gang negotiated with relatives of those held captives. Why weren’t they in the loop? The missionaries were simply found wandering on a mountain, with no obvious help from the outside.

More telling is that American have always been off-limits to Haitian gangs. That appears to be no longer the case.

The U.S. government is obviously losing its slim diplomatic hold on the troubled island.

Already influential gangs have steadily taken over new sections of the capital after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July., becoming the de facto government, aggravating Haiti’s already acute economic crisis and giving more fuel to its political crisis.

Haiti’s government has asked for U.S. military assistance or some kind of U.S. or U.N. intervention. The request was rejected in Washington, which has since said its recruiting other countries, including France, the United Kingdom and Canada, to help.

Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere, recently implied to journalists that Haiti’s problems do not require outside intervention.

“I think there’s broad agreement that the security situation in Haiti is a policing challenge. It’s not a military challenge,” Nichols told reporters. That is why the Editorial Board strongly urged the U.N. to return with its peacekeepers.

But, as we said, the cavalry is likely not on the way to Haiti.

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