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Photo: © Andy Clark / Reuters/ REUTERS
The Caribbean state of Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere.
For years, the country has been shaken by economic and political crises, and criminal gangs have de facto taken control in many places.
Now Canada is sending two warships off the coast of Haiti to fight gang violence.
The ships would monitor the coastal area, "gather information and maintain a maritime presence off Haiti's coast in the coming weeks," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a meeting with representatives of Caribbean countries in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas.
At a press conference, Trudeau later said the two frigates would "support the Haitian National Police in their efforts to bring gang activity under control."
Trudeau believes that the mere presence of the ships in the bay of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince will deter the gangs from using the sea route for their criminal activities.
Trudeau told journalists "very concerned" about the situation in Haiti.
Armed groups committed murders, rapes and kidnappings there and recruited children for their crimes.
Much of the responsibility for these abuses rests with "a small number of powerful, elite families who foment instability and finance violence for their own benefit and with terrible consequences for the Haitian people."
Beset by crises for years
Until those circles are held "accountable for their role in this terrible crisis in Haiti," things will not improve, Trudeau warned.
Canada is therefore trying to international sanctions against those responsible.
Trudeau's government added more Haitians to its sanctions list on Thursday, while also announcing further humanitarian aid to Haiti's people.
For years, Haiti has been plagued by poverty, political crises, violence and natural disasters: the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 and a severe earthquake in the following month further exacerbated the country's problems.
According to the UN, the Haitian police have around 13,000 officers - that's about one policeman for every 1,000 inhabitants.
That's not enough for the fight against gang crime.
At the end of last year, Haiti asked for international help to deal with the security crisis in the country.
Last week, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Volker Türk, also called for the stationing of an international force in Haiti in order to end this "nightmare that has come true".
mrc/AFP