Under Secretary of State USA David Hale (centre) meets with Haitian President Jovenel Moïse(second from left) and other political, private sector
and civil society leaders on March 1, 2019, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Screengrab from a YouTube video by News Haiti.
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti — Amidst such uncertainty, David Hale, the US Undersecretary for Political Affairs, visited the struggling nation earlier in March to meet with political leaders, the private sector and civil society. Hale’s visit is a direct result of Haiti’s violent street protests over rising food prices. The protests were halted in mid-February 2019 after government leaders announced measures aimed at addressing the crisis.
While the US state department signals US interest in playing a benevolent role in helping the country address the crisis, events one week prior saw the same state department maneuvering to repatriate five American citizens and two permanent residents from Haiti to the US after being arrested for the possession of illegal weapons.
The fact that the men have not been charged is clouding the message of the visit. Moreover, the revocation of visas of some members of the opposition by the US embassy in Haiti is seen as plain interference and undermines Washington’s image as a credible mediator to the crisis.
Andre Michel, a high-profile member of Haiti’s radical opposition, reiterated that President Jovenel Moïse’s resignation is key to addressing the crisis and that Washington’s support for an “inter-Haitian dialogue” led by the president reflects its misunderstanding of the crisis on the ground.
