Colombia’s Petro visits Haiti again, pledges security support as gangs tighten grip

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Preto arrived Friday in Haiti for the second time this year in a show of support as gangs in the troubled Caribbean country continue to gain ground.

Petro announced the opening of a Colombian embassy in Haiti and pledged to help Haiti strengthen its security.

Petro met with Haiti’s prime minister and its transitional presidential council, which is under pressure to hold general elections before February 2026.

While officials met behind closed doors, a statement from Colombia’s government noted they would review bilateral projects focused on security, commerce, education, agriculture and the fight against drug trafficking.

Petro’s administration has offered to train Haitian officers, and Haitian delegations have visited a state-owned arms manufacturing company in Colombia to learn about its defense capabilities.

The two countries are strengthening their ties as judges in Haiti continue to interrogate 17 former Colombian soldiers accused in the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse.

A press conference to share details about Petro’s visit was scheduled for Friday afternoon, but after leaving reporters waiting for several hours, officials canceled it.

The Colombian government shared a brief clip of Petro speaking at the new embassy: “The time has come to truly unite.”

Meanwhile, a handful of people gathered outside the embassy to protest Petro’s arrival.

“We had a president. They killed him,” one Haitian man said, referring to the accused Colombians, who have rejected the accusations.

Petro previously visited Haiti in late January, where he was received in the southern coastal city of Jacmel with much fanfare. Prior to his visit, Haitian officials invested some $3.8 million to more than double the runway at the airport in Jacmel, renovate the town and restore electricity to a population living in the dark for at least three years.

This time, Petro landed in Port-au-Prince, where 90% of the capital is under gang control. He was accompanied by officials including Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The officials arrived less than a week after Haitian authorities killed four suspected drug traffickers and confiscated more than 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of cocaine off the country’s north coast.

It was a remarkable seizure for Haiti’s National Police, which remains understaffed and underfunded as it works with Kenyan police leading a U.N.-backed mission to help quell gang violence.

While most of the violence is centered in Port-au-Prince, gangs have razed and seized control of a growing number of towns in Haiti’s central region.

At least 4,864 people have been killed from October to the end of June across Haiti, with hundreds of others kidnapped, raped and trafficked, according to a recent U.N. report.

Gang violence also has displaced 1.3 million people in recent years.

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