Michael McCaul blamed the Biden administration for leaving Haiti on the brink of civil war as Foreign Affairs chair said he would not lift his hold on tens of millions in aid until he got further assurances it wouldn’t go to ‘warlords.’
Republicans have for months been holding up funds that would be used for the deployment of a force, led by Kenyan police, to Haiti, which is now under assault by gangs.
They released $10 million of a $50 million fund, and McCaul claims none of that money has been used yet.
‘We’ve already freed up $10 million from congressional notification, not one dime has been spent,’ McCaul told reporters at the House GOP retreat at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
Michael McCaul blamed the Biden administration for leaving Haiti on the brink of civil war as Foreign Affairs chair said he would not lift his hold on tens of millions in aid until he got further assurances it wouldn’t go to ‘warlords’
‘I don’t want to throw any more money or guns into Haiti until I get assurances it’s not going to go directly to the warlords.’
But the Biden administration is reportedly growing frustrated with the GOP-led hold and imploring lawmakers to recognize the urgency of the situation.
But McCaul said the Biden administration has ‘neglected’ Haiti for a year, and there was almost no international law enforcement presence prior to the most recent chaos.
‘We had a hearing on this issue, it was very clear that international law enforcement, INL had very little presence of any in Haiti,’ he said, adding the current situation is due to ‘a year’s worth of neglect by this administration.’
Earlier this week the State Department sent top Republicans its plan for helping Haiti in an effort to get McCaul and Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch, R-Idaho, to drop their hold.
But with Prime Minister Ariel Henry who resigned and no real government left in Haiti, it’s unclear whether Kenyan officers are even ready to step in.
‘Kenya cannot bring in their people until there is a form of governance in Haiti,’ McCaul insisted.
The U.S. has pledged as much as $300 million the multinational security mission in Haiti, which would involve sending 1,000 Kenyan officers to the island.
McCaul said he’s not satisfied by the State Department plan, and is still waiting on intelligence assessments on lethality and the possibility of a stable governing plan in Haiti.
‘The administration has still failed to come forward to give us the necessary reports briefings to help us get to a point where we feel confident in terms of how the money’s gonna be spent and the weapons,’ he explained.
‘This is not the first time in history United States would put guns of money into another country that backfired.’
A plan to install new leaders in Haiti seemingly crumbled on Thursday after key political parties rejected the plan to create a presidential council that would manage the transition.
National Police patrol the area near the empty National Penitentiary after a small fire inside the jail in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Haiti, Thursday, March 14, 2024
Police officers keep watch at the entrance to the National Penitentiary following a fire, as a powerful gang leader in Haiti has issued a threatening message aimed at political leaders who would take part in a still-unformed transition council for the country, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 14, 2024
The gang attacks began Feb. 29, when Henry was in Kenya to push for the United Nations-backed deployment of a Kenyan police force.
He’s been locked out of Haiti since as gang attacks have shut down the nation’s airports.
Armed men in the capital of Port-au-Prince have set fire to police stations and stormed the nation’s biggest prisons, releasing some 4,000 inmates.
The U.N.’s top human rights official warned days ago the situation in Haiti is ‘beyond untenable’ and noted that more than 1,190 people have been killed by gangs since the start of 2024 alone.