Raymond King, the Commodore Chief of Defense of the Bahamas, told the media this week that the Bahamian contingent of approximately 150 soldiers would depart for Jamaica for 3 weeks of intensive training with other regional soldiers of the Caribbean Community and South Americans with a view to participating in the Multinational Mission to Support the National Police of Haiti (PNH) in the fight against gangs.

A team of officers will also travel to Jamaica to prepare for the training exercise which will also involve soldiers and security forces from Chile and Argentina, among others : Guyana, Trinidad and several other countries in the regional bloc have already committed to also participating in the multinational force.

"Kenya and the Republic of Haiti are signing an agreement that will allow the Kenyans to deploy their police officers. Kenya is preparing to send its first team of some 200 people to Haiti as part of the forward team [...] It's an integrated training of about three weeks to ensure that the forces can operate, that they have the same doctrine, the same orders, the same rules. To ensure that all the different forces are able to operate seamlessly and cohesively," King said.

Jamaica, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands are eager for calm to return to Haiti, as they often bear the brunt of Haitian "boat people" and economic migrants fleeing the chaos and misery of their countries.

Haiti will be a key item on the agenda of the 46th Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in Guyana (February 25 to 28, 2024)

SL/ HaitiLibre