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UN Chief Visits Haiti as New Gang Suppression Force Prepares to Deploy

The trip presses international donors to fund the emerging force, urges legal and human-rights safeguards, and calls for rapid judicial capacity before operations begin.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres greets soldiers from Chad at a base in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Danica Coto)
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, front center, walks with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as Guterres arrives to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Danica Coto)
Haiti's residents are prey to regular armed violence, forcing many to look for safer areas in the impoverished country
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has for years been plagued by instability

Overview

  • UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to meet displaced families, tour the Gang Suppression Force headquarters and assess preparations for the force to begin phased operations.
  • The UN human-rights office reported at least 2,300 people killed, about 1,100 injured and 99 kidnapped so far in 2026, and said nearly 5,500 lives were lost between March 2025 and January 2026 with many deaths occurring during anti-gang operations.
  • The internationally authorised Gang Suppression Force has a Security Council ceiling of 5,500 personnel but currently includes fewer than 1,000 troops from Jamaica, Chad, El Salvador and Guatemala and is due to start operations in the coming weeks.
  • Humanitarian needs are acute: roughly 1.5 million people are displaced, more than five million face severe food insecurity, and makeshift shelters visited by UN teams are overcrowded and lack basic services.
  • UN officials and rights groups warn that security action must be paired with judicial units, accountability for abuses and donor support to avoid civilian harm and to create pathways for political stabilization after years without a legitimate elected president.