The US has tried to ‘fix’ Haiti before. How will this time be different?

Port Au Prince,Haiti: Heavily armed gangs are sowing mayhem, killing indiscriminately, breaking open prisons and blocking aid. Nearly half the country...

Port Au Prince, Haiti: Heavily armed gangs are sowing mayhem, killing indiscriminately, breaking open prisons and blocking aid. Nearly half the country is hungry; 1 million people are starving. The country’s leader has announced plans to resign.

Haiti has been here before - several times, in fact, since the ouster of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986: Its government has fallen or been chased out, the streets have erupted, and the United States has stepped in to lead international efforts to stand up new leaders who can be seen as legitimate and will be friendly to Washington.

It has yet to work.

Haiti’s presidency has been vacant since the 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moïse. Its National Assembly has been empty since the last lawmakers’ terms expired last year. Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been unwilling or unable to bring new elections.

When Henry left the country this month to build support for a UN security force to restore order, the gangs rampaged, shutting down the international airport and the main seaport and attacking at least a dozen police stations. They haven’t let him back in.