SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥 U.S. officials have asked Haiti鈥檚 prime minister to prioritize the establishment of an electoral council as the country strives to rebuild its government amid rampant gang violence.
鈥淭his critical step toward will give the Haitian people an opportunity to select their leaders democratically for the first time in years,鈥 said Brian Nichols, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who spoke after a meeting between and Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille the day before.
Nichols said that U.S. officials acknowledged Conille鈥檚 progress in improving conditions to restore security in Haiti, but they emphasized the need to establish an electoral council.
Weeks of coordinated attacks by gangs forced former Prime Minister , and his Cabinet was dissolved. Gunmen took control of police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remained closed for nearly three months and stormed Haiti鈥檚 two biggest prisons.
A transitional council was later established and its members
Part of the council's mission is to also appoint an electoral commission, a requirement before an election can take place. The council鈥檚 non-renewable mandate expires Feb. 7, 2026, at which date a new president is scheduled to be sworn in.
At Tuesday鈥檚 meeting, Blinken and Conille discussed the next steps for the aimed at curbing gang violence in Haiti. The first group of a couple of hundred of Kenyan police officers have been deployed to help reinstall stability.
Criminal gangs currently control about 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The upsurge of violence in Haiti has left , according to a recent report by the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration.
Todd Robinson, assistant secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, said on Wednesday that the U.S. has provided deployment training and personnel to support the international mission in Haiti.
The U.S. has also delivered armed vehicles, drones, and other equipment to bolster the Haitian 春色直播 Police amid the wave of attacks. Training and equipment were also provided to Haiti鈥檚 counternarcotics unit and border police units, Robinson confirmed.
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