Kaine & Booker Request Update Regarding United Nations Gang Suppression Force in Haiti

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), led a letter to U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio regarding the Administration’s current policy toward Haiti. In the letter, the senators request information from the Administration about the United Nations Gang Suppression Force (GSF) to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are used effectively and in alignment with international human rights law. They also urge the Administration to ensure GSF is part of a larger strategy that addresses the collapse of institutions and significant security, humanitarian, and economic challenges in Haiti.

“Since 2020, Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince has been plunged into crises at the hands of gangs, who now control 90 percent of the capital and perpetrate ruthless violence, including pervasive sexual violence, with abandon, driving the country into protracted humanitarian and public health crises,” wrote the senators. “The Administration’s focus on maximum lethality while transitioning U.S. resources away from a U.S. backed Multinational Security Support Mission for Haiti (MSS) and absent a broader strategy to address converging development and humanitarian challenges which fuel gangs’ reach and legitimacy, risks plunging Haiti into a fresh cycle of horrific violence and further collapse.”

“We urge the Administration to consider developing an integrated, holistic strategy to address these interrelated priorities. Haitian-led solutions guided by the people of Haiti are vital to the country’s future. U.S. diplomatic and programmatic support—including by forging partnerships with the international community, Haitian civil society, Haitian Diaspora and the private sector—is essential to addressing Haiti's myriad needs,” the senators continued. “Further, a holistic strategy avoids repeating the mistakes of past decades of interventionism in Haiti and ensures that U.S. taxpayer dollars are used effectively and in alignment with international human rights law.”

“We remain committed to working with you, including to ensure that U.S. backed and funded efforts do not risk exacerbating an already horrific and untenable situation,” the senators wrote.

Kaine is the Ranking Member of the SFRC Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues. Booker is the Ranking Member of the SFRC Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy.

In addition to Kaine and Booker, the letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA).

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Rubio,

We write with strong interest in working with the Administration to address the converging security, economic, and humanitarian crises affecting Haiti.

While the Administration’s success in coalescing international support for a United Nations Gang Suppression Force (GSF) represents a significant step forward in responding to Haiti’s request for security assistance, the impact of this effort may be eroded absent consideration of addressing the myriad competing challenges in Haiti.

Since 2020, Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince has been plunged into crises at the hands of gangs, who now control 90 percent of the capital and perpetrate ruthless violence, including pervasive sexual violence, with abandon, driving the country into protracted humanitarian and public health crises. The Administration’s focus on maximum lethality while transitioning U.S. resources away from a U.S. backed Multinational Security Support Mission for Haiti (MSS) and absent a broader strategy to address converging development and humanitarian challenges which fuel gangs’ reach and legitimacy, risks plunging Haiti into a fresh cycle of horrific violence and further collapse.

The intersecting crises are immense: the end of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council’s mandate has left an unelected interim leader to plan elections by the end of this year; widespread corruption and abuse of power persist; the beleaguered Haitian National Police face an asymmetric threat from gangs with access to an unrelenting flow of illicit firearms and ammunition, including from the United States; and counter gang-operations must contend with the reality that children make up half of all gang members in Haiti. A lack of development and economic opportunity, widespread poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, a public health crisis, and the near collapse of the democratic process and all public institutions in Haiti compound the difficulties facing the Haitian people while further strengthening gangs’ legitimacy and power.

We urge the Administration to consider developing an integrated, holistic strategy to address these interrelated priorities. Haitian-led solutions guided by the people of Haiti are vital to the country’s future. U.S. diplomatic and programmatic support—including by forging partnerships with the international community, Haitian civil society, Haitian Diaspora and the private sector—is essential to addressing Haiti's myriad needs. Further, a holistic strategy avoids repeating the mistakes of past decades of interventionism in Haiti and ensures that U.S. taxpayer dollars are used effectively and in alignment with international human rights law. Reports that the United Nations received four, now substantiated, allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by members of the U.S. backed MSS underscore the complexity of deploying the GSF to Haiti and the need for independent review of these and similar allegations. Three of the victims of rape were children, and the fourth, who allegedly survived sexual violence, is just 18. The fact that the MSS was deployed in a bid to end horrific crimes undermines the future legitimacy of the GSF. These incidents occur against the historical backdrop of the Haitian people being victimized by those promising to forge a better future for the country. They also underscore the need for pre-deployment training of GSF personnel and swift accountability for any crimes committed.

Effective deployment of the GSF also requires a coherent plan to address the complexity of confronting child combatants, who make up a large share of Haiti’s gang members, in compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law. The Administration’s focus on lethality as GSF’s primary mission leaves open questions about its strategy for managing child recruits and combatants. This includes questions on how it will disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate (DDR) former child gang members into Haitian society as well as the role U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance have played and should play in addressing this critical priority.

Adding to our concerns are reports that the Haitian Government is funding a private security firm, Vectus Global, whose activities are not coordinated with the GSF but could easily be conflated with GSF operations on the ground, thereby undermining the GSF’s legitimacy.

We remain committed to working with you, including to ensure that U.S. backed and funded efforts do not risk exacerbating an already horrific and untenable situation. To address our questions and concerns, we request a briefing on the status of the GSF’s deployment no later than June 19, 2026, alongside a response to the following questions and requests for information.

We request you provide the following documents and information:

• Provide the curriculum for GSF training.

• Provide the GSF Concept of Operations.

• List foreign assistance accounts, funding levels, funding fiscal year, and program descriptions for efforts funded by the State Department in Haiti following January 20, 2025.

• Share any correspondence between the State Department, Erik Prince and/or Vectus Global regarding the private security firm’s work in Haiti.

• Provide the status (contractor, PSC, Full Time Employee and/or Foreign Service Officer), and government service level, and bureau of gender, humanitarian, and human rights experts informing the Administration’s strategy on Haiti.

We request you provide answers to the following questions:

• What funding has the Department of Defense obligated, expended, or planned to obligate or expend in support of the Multinational Security Support mission (MSS) or the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) since January 20, 2025?

• How will the administration work with Haiti’s interim government and Haitian civil society to ensure transparency in decision-making around the financing, deployment, and oversight of the GSF?

• What civilian harm mitigation measures will be implemented to prevent and minimize civilian casualties and injuries during GSF operations, particularly in dense urban areas?

• What steps is the Administration taking to ensure that DDR programs are incorporated into GSF’s mission, and that these programs include specific plans for responding to children in gangs?

• What independent investigative accountability frameworks and/or mechanisms are in place for the GSF and other armed actors to address instances when civilians are harmed through GSF operations? Or to address human rights violations and other crimes perpetrated by the GSF? What training has the GSF received regarding the accountability mechanism?

• What steps is the Administration taking to ensure that the GSF fits within a broader U.S. strategy toward Haiti that addresses not only security, but also governance, judicial accountability and impunity, humanitarian needs, long-term stabilization, and sustainable economic development, including through trade preference programs for Haiti?

We look forward to receiving your response and to working together to support the Haitian people restore peace, security, and stability in their country.

Sincerely,

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