A parent, carrying his child after picking him up from school, runs past police as they carry out an operation against gangs in the Bel-Air area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 3, 2023. Haiti's troubled government is accusing Ottawa of stalling in its delivery of purchased armoured vehicles, and argues the delay is hindering a plan to clear violent gangs from Port-au-Prince. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Odelyn Joseph
OTTAWA, Ill. – Haiti’s troubled government is accusing Canada of stalling in its promised delivery of armoured vehicles, and argues the delay is hindering a plan to clear violent gangs from Port-au-Prince.
In an interview with Haitian radio, the country’s acting justice minister, Emmelie Prophète-Milcé, says in French that the company supplying the tanks “did not keep its word.”
Violent gangs have held control over most of Haiti’s capital for months, leading to a shortage of essentials and medical care, and a rise in sexual assaults.
As part of Canada’s response, Ottawa says it has been airlifting armoured vehicles that the Haitian government has purchased, which might avoid the need for an international military intervention.
But Prophète-Milcé says the majority of the 18 armoured vehicles her country ordered have yet to arrive, and she claims “the police could implement their strategy if all the armoured vehicles were delivered on time.”
Global Affairs Canada has been asked to respond to these claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2023.
