United States Urges Haiti to Move Forward "towards democracy"Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this Saturday on the occasion of the 218th anniversary of the independence of the Caribbean country.
"We encourage all voices to play an active and productive role in ensuring progress towards democracy"Blinken said in a statement.
The Secretary of State highlighted the "immense challenges" Haiti faced in 2021 with the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7, the August 14 earthquake, and increased insecurity and kidnappings, all amid a global pandemic that has brought additional economic hardship. .
These factors have generated a wave of massive migration of Haitians to Latin American countries and to the United States.
"We recognize the difficulties of the Haitian people and will support our partners in Haiti to rebuild and strengthen the institutions necessary to overcome these challenges in order to achieve prosperity and stability within the country."Blinken stated.
Haiti is experiencing a deep social, political and economic crisis, a fertile ground for the proliferation of gangs.
U.S "remains a strong partner as Haiti seeks to build broad consensus and negotiate a path to a more secure, prosperous and stable republic"added Blinken
The poorest country in the Caribbean has extremely high levels of insecurity. This year the gangs have committed 782 kidnappings to demand the payment of ransoms.
In mid-October, 16 American missionaries and one Canadian were kidnapped. Five of them were released, without knowing whether a ransom has been paid, and the other 12 managed to escape.
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