MMSS in Haiti: After Kenyan Leadership Failure, Washington Takes the Helm

PORT-AU-PRINCE.— After a year of presence in Haiti, the Multinational Security Support (MMSS) Mission officially changes course. The U.S. Embassy in Tabarre announced Friday that Washington will now take the lead of this international force, previously directed by Kenya. This decision marks a major turning point in the international approach to the Haitian crisis. Kenya Stretched Thin When the MMSS was deployed on June 25, 2024, Nairobi had agreed to assume command of the mission, logistically and financially supported by Washington. But from the first months, this leadership demonstrated its limits. Low troop numbers, lack of adapted equipment, absence of a robust mandate: Kenyan forces struggled to contain the advance of armed gangs, which continue to control large portions of Port-au-Prince and strategic routes. Kenya, isolated on the ground and criticized in its own country for the involvement of its police officers in a conflict abroad, gradually lost credibility. Several observers speak of a «symbolic, even fictitious leadership», incapable of producing tangible results. Washington Takes Over It is in this context that the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Haiti, Henry T. Wooster, confirmed on Friday his country's willingness to take back the reins. «We want to take this force, the MMSS, and modify it so that it has all the assets: powers, personnel, and equipment necessary to accomplish what needs to be done,» he declared to the press, in an official video released by the Embassy. He nevertheless wished to commend Nairobi's commitment: «The Kenyans did absolutely everything we asked them to do.» But behind this polite acknowledgment lies an admission of failure: the mission's initial architecture was not up to the Haitian security challenge. A Decision with Significant Political and Diplomatic Implications The American announcement goes beyond the simple military sphere. It reveals a reaffirmation of Washington's classic doctrine: faced with Haiti's chronic instability, no other power can truly lead an international mission without direct U.S. support. This assumed return of «Uncle Sam» generates as much expectation as mistrust. On one hand, many hope that American logistical and military power will finally give the mission a real capacity for action against the gangs. On the other hand, some fear a new form of tutelage, recalling the long periods of foreign interference that have marked the country's history. The Next Test: The UN Washington plans to submit a resolution to the Security Council to redefine the MMSS mandate. The objective: to expand its personnel, strengthen its logistical arsenal, and grant it a more robust operational leeway. The crucial question, however, remains whether this new phase of the mission can achieve rapid and visible results for the Haitian population, which has been plunged for years into a spiral of violence and institutional crisis. Jean Mapou