Foreign Mercenaries Present in Haiti, Fritz A. Jean Confirms Their Engagement by the Haitian State

PORT-AU-PRINCE.— The President of the Transitional Council (CPT), Fritz Alphonse Jean, confirmed that a foreign private security company has been engaged to support local forces, now considered insufficient given the gravity of the current situation.

President Jean explained that a partnership with a foreign security company was crucial to strengthen the operational capabilities of local security agents, whose individual skills are often overwhelmed.

Although Fritz Alphonse Jean did not disclose the name of the chosen company or the contract amount, sources claimed that the American firm “Blackwater” was involved, with a contract nearing 44 million dollars.

During a selective interview granted to a panel of journalists, Jean highlighted the extreme gravity of the violence the country is facing. “We are in a situation of extreme armed violence where law enforcement cannot, under any circumstances, resolve the crisis alone,” he affirmed, acknowledging the necessity of external support, despite the presence of the MMSS for a year.

Regarding the contract, the President also emphasized that Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is managing the contract details on behalf of the Haitian state. “We were not fundamentally involved in the terms of the partnership,” he insisted.

It should be noted that, if it is confirmed to be the Blackwater company, the contract clauses appear highly controversial. Haitian authorities stated they engaged a foreign private military company to intervene alongside the Haitian National Police in tracking down bandits, while information suggests that Blackwater does not intervene in the fight against insecurity in Haiti, to the extent that the firm's owner had to specify that “its role would only be to protect VIPs.”