A foreign force was set to arrive in Haiti this week. What happened?

After months of planning and discussion, the deployment of an international force to violence-wracked Haiti has been delayed again, puncturing hopes that a vanguard of Kenyan police would arrive this week.

After months of planning and discussion, the deployment of an international force to violence-wracked Haiti has been delayed again, puncturing hopes that a vanguard of Kenyan police would arrive this week. High-profile meetings on Thursday hinted at once-high expectations. In the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, the country’s governing Transitional Presidential Council posted photos of its meeting with a Kenyan delegation. In Washington, US President Joe Biden and Kenyan President William Ruto touted their nations’ collaboration on the mission (largely equipped by the US) at a joint press conference. Peace and security in Haiti are the “collective responsibility of all nations,” Ruto said, warning that Kenya will “take that responsibility along with the Haitian police” and “break the backs of gangs and criminals.” But for now, armed groups continue to rampage in capital city Port-au-Prince, extorting residents and controlling the movement of vital fuel, food and medical supplies. On Thursday evening, a young US missionary couple were attacked by gangs at a church in the city and later killed, their family said. Originally created as enforcers for Haiti’s political and business elite, Haiti’s rival gangs have in recent months formed a broad coalition known as “Viv Ansamn,” or “Live together,” and are now coordinating attacks on government institutions like police stations and prisons. Haiti’s National Police have been battling the gangs block by block, but they are understaffed and under-equipped. Since the assassination of then-President Jovenel Moise in 2021, the gangs’ grip has expanded from an estimated 50% of the city to 80% today.