March 19, 2024 (EIRNS)—During an appearance today at the Atlantic Council’s “Front Page” interview on the security challenges for the U.S. in Ibero-America and the Caribbean, Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, was asked about the possibility of deploying U.S. troops to Haiti to respond to that nation’s gang violence and instability. She replied ambiguously, first with a “no, not right now,” adding that a U.S.-only (military) solution would not be the best option; then, yes, she continued, U.S. troops could be part of “an international solution … we are prepared if we are called on.”
She asserted that Defense Department support for sustaining the Kenyan-led multilateral security support mission, when it is there, is prepared. She had reported during testimony at the House Armed Services Committee March 12 that SouthCom will be providing all logistical support for the Kenyan mission. The State Department, she said, is “very aggressively” working on standing up the “Haitian-led” governing council so that the Kenyan mission can get into Haiti. Asked if she were confident the mission would materialize, she very aggressively replied, “Very confident.”
Today, the Associated Press reported, UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq expressed doubts about that, telling reporters that “Kenya has concerns about the make-up of the government on the ground…. We certainly hope that they will be able to deploy as quickly as possible,” he said. “But they have their concerns. And for our part, what we want to make sure is that the transitional government arrangements can be implemented.”
