Haiti - FLASH : Cuban soldiers as blue helmets in Haiti ?
After the refusal of Mexico and the Dominican Republic to get involved, the member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have formulated a request to the Government of Cuba to send soldiers to Haiti, as "blue helmets" under United Nations mandate and co-financed by the United States.
This request, which Havana has kept confidential, was decided at the 45th meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) held in July in Trinidad and Tobago. A favorite option for North Americans...
The United States also remained silent on the request of Caricom in Cuba, but the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken who participated in the Caricom summit "did not reject the option of sending Cuban soldiers as peacekeepers in Haiti" confirmed the head of the sub-regional organization.
A request that has divided the Castroist Government, between those who support such an intervention and those who oppose it.
A group of Cuban military leaders and civilian officials has "resolutely" committed to sending blue helmets to Haiti, taking into account the economic income that this would bring to the Cuban economy; while the opponents of an intervention, recall "we have never done it and it would further complicate our situation because the enemy (the United States) is the one who pays the bulk of the operation [...] We know how interventions in foreign countries begin but not how they end, and the elements that control the real power in Haiti will not sit idly by in our presence. In the event of attacks against our 'blue helmets' and loss of human life, who will bear the responsibility ? concluded a former senior Cuban government official on condition of anonymity."
