SAN MIGUEL DE LOS JAGÜEYES, México (AP) — A group of 143 Haitian soldiers on Friday finished military training by the Mexican army as part of a bilateral agreement as Haiti looks to revive its armed forces amid escalating violence in the Caribbean nation, where gangs have taken control of most of its capital.
For eight weeks, 15 women and 128 men were part of a basic military training where they practiced personal defense and shooting and learned about human rights. Now they are heading to their country.
“Starting today, you return to your nation with military knowledge and physical and spiritual strength to loyally serve your people and your democratically elected authority,” said Lt. Col. Juan Manuel Campos Rodríguez, director of the army’s training center, at a closing ceremony in a military camp in the state of Mexico, north of Mexico’s capital.
The Haitian government announced in July it was sending soldiers for training as part of a plan to strengthen its security capabilities.
“The skills acquired by the graduating class substantially improve the capabilities of the Haitian armed forces, allowing them to better serve and protect the Haitian people,” said the Haitian ambassador to Mexico, Hubert Labbe.
Since the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, gangs have increased their presence and it’s estimated they now control around 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Their criminal activities and violence have extended to the countryside.
A Kenya-led multinational force is currently deployed in Haiti, but it has not contained the violence, and there have been some recent proposals to increase the international support.
A few days ago, the United States and Panama urged the U.N. Security Council to authorize a 5,550-member force with the power to detain gang members in Haiti. The plan would be to transform the Kenya-led force into a much larger force.
The Haitian soldiers trained in Mexico thanked the support.
“This type of support is essential for the Haitian armed forces to be able to increase their operational capacity and provide security and peace to our nation,” said Haitian soldier Accilien Jimmy.
Haiti’s armed forces were disbanded in 1995 following a coup to oust former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
The army was reinstated in 2017 by slain President Moïse after the U.N. ended its peacekeeping operations.
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