For decades, the international community has watched Haiti cycle through crisis after crisis. Missions have come and gone and billions of dollars have been spent by many of the countries on the UN Security Council.
In spite of these efforts, said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, “we have a situation where the gangs have taken over [in Haiti]. They’ve gotten stronger, Haitian institutions weaker, and everyday people in Haiti and in the region ... have paid the price.”
That’s why it’s so significant that the UN has undertaken a new approach. The United Nations–backed Gang Suppression Force which was authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 2793 in September 2025 has been reauthorized. It supports an international police and military mission in Haiti to combat armed gangs and restore public safety, working alongside the Haitian National Police and Armed Forces of Haiti.
And the results are beginning to show, said Ambassador Waltz. The “Gang Suppression Force is taking the fight to the gangs. They’re clearing roads and neighborhoods. They’re liberating what has been no-go zones for the Haitian National Police. They are shutting down illegal tolls that serve as a revenue source for the gangs, an illicit revenue source, and keeps them fueled for their terror.”
There are several things that make this model different, said Ambassador Waltz.
First, it has enforcement power with soldiers who have an offensive mandate.
The entire effort is designed around the ultimate objective that Haitians themselves take back control of their own security and their own future. That means this will not become an endless mission, declared Ambassador Waltz.
And finally, countries are actually sharing the burden to staff and support this mission in Haiti.
Over the last year, more than 17,000 personnel have been pledged to fill 5,500 authorized billets. There are now more than 1,500 troops on the ground in Haiti with 4,000 more slated to arrive in the coming months.
But this is just the beginning, cautioned Ambassador Waltz. “There’s more work to do, and the gangs are certainly not just melting away, and their terror over the people of this region continues.”
The United States believes the UN can deliver on missions like the Gang Suppression Force in Haiti.
The Haitian people have faced many hardships, including earthquakes and hurricanes. “Together. . .we can take back the second oldest republic in our hemisphere,” declared Ambassador Waltz. “They can win back their streets and their lives and their futures for their families.”