In May, a Florida judge convicted four people of an extraordinary crime: helping recruit and finance a squad of two two dozen former Colombian mercenaries for the 2021 murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in his own home.
The assassination and political vacuum that followed fed gang violence that has since swallowed Haiti. While the creation of a United Nations security force marks progress, the way out of Haiti’s crisis will require more than guns. Long-standing peace can only be built on truth, justice, reintegration, and state-building.
Ironically, despite its connection to Haiti’s spiral into violence, Colombia offers such a model. To fix Haiti, look to Colombia—not because its peace is perfect, but because it knows the futility of trying to punish a country back into order.
Haiti is in a fragile moment between intensifying violence and a renewed international security push. Chad has begun deploying troops to the new U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), with around 400 personnel already in Haiti out of a planned 1,500-member Chadian contingent. The force, intended to grow to roughly 5,500 personnel, is designed to restore basic security and help reestablish state authority. Meanwhile, Washington’s support for Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé after the dissolution of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council has helped the country avoid an outright leadership vacuum.
