At a White House meeting on May 8, President Bush promised Haitian President René Préval that the U.S. would do more to help Haiti fight drugs and drug traffickers. Haiti is a transshipment point for 10-15 percent of the cocaine that reaches the U.S. There is also a problem with drug addiction and trafficking in Haiti. What is the state of Haiti's effort to control narcotics? What assistance does the U.S. provide? These questions will be addressed by a panel of experts.

Speakers

  • Alexander G. Toth
    Chief, Latin America and Caribbean Section, Office of Enforcement Operations, Drug Enforcement Agency
  • Kevin Brown
    Caribbean and Central American Director, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau, U.S. Department of State
  • Leon Charles , (Invited)
    Minister Counselor, Embassy of Haiti and former Director General of the Haitian National Police
  • Marie-Claude Rigaud, MD, MPH
    Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
  • Robert Perito, Moderator
    U.S. Institute of Peace

Related Publications

Ce qu'un gouvernement de transition en Haïti aura besoin pour réussir

Ce qu'un gouvernement de transition en Haïti aura besoin pour réussir

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Après des semaines de consultations, et au milieu d'une quasi-rupture totale de l'ordre et de la loi en Haïti, un effort dirigé par la Communauté caribéenne (CARICOM) pour créer un nouveau conseil de gouvernance de transition pourrait être sur le point d'être achevé. La mise en place du conseil permettrait l'entrée d'une force de sécurité multinationale qui pourrait ensuite se joindre à la police nationale haïtienne pour rétablir l'ordre. Certains ont suggéré l'inclusion de "facilitateurs" pour la nouvelle force de sécurité - soutien aérien, drones, renseignement. Mais pour gagner la confiance du peuple haïtien, le nouveau conseil de gouvernance aura besoin de ses propres "facilitateurs" populaires, d'un moyen systématique d'inclure de nombreux autres secteurs de la société haïtienne qui sont actuellement ignorés ou délibérément exclus de la gouvernance.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

Thursday, March 28, 2024

After weeks of consultations, and amidst a near total breakdown of law and order in Haiti, a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-led effort to create a new transitional governing council may be nearing completion. The council’s establishment would allow for the entry of a multinational security force that would then be able to join with the Haitian National Police and restore order. Some have suggested the inclusion of “enablers” for the new security force — air support, drones, intelligence. But to gain the trust of the Haitian people, the new governing council will need its own popular “enablers,” a systematic way to include many more sectors of Haitian society that are currently ignored or deliberately excluded from governance.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

The Latest @ USIP: How Civil Society is Addressing Haiti’s Crisis

The Latest @ USIP: How Civil Society is Addressing Haiti’s Crisis

Monday, March 25, 2024

In the past few years, life in Haiti has been dominated by gangs’ growing control over huge swathes of the capital, Port-au-Prince. For Haitian families, this crisis has meant extreme violence, pervasive unemployment, lack of education for children and reduced access to health care. 2023 Women Building Peace Award finalist Dr. Marie-Marcelle Deschamps serves as the deputy executive director, the head of the women's health program and the manager of the clinical research unit of GHESKIO Centers in Port-au-Prince. She spoke to USIP about how her work helps women and their families, and what the global community can do to help Haitian civil society address this devastating humanitarian crisis.

Type: Blog

Conflict Analysis & PreventionGender

For Peace in Haiti, Let’s Build on the Success We’re Ignoring

For Peace in Haiti, Let’s Build on the Success We’re Ignoring

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Haiti’s new eruption of violence threatens anarchy and famine for its 11 million people and endangers security in the entire region, yet “an old narrative that ‘Haiti is hopeless’” risks deterring U.S and international policymakers from any real effort to help, says Marie-Marcelle Deschamps, an internationally recognized Haitian doctor and humanitarian. “The world is hesitating, and thus isolating Haiti, but this ignores many successful ways that Haitians and international partners have built progress and peace together.”

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

View All Publications