OAS chief calls for more support for Haiti as Cuba attacks US sanctions
Albert Ramdin says the gang suppression force needs more personnel, equipment and money before December elections, while Cuba's UN envoy challenges Washington over new sanctions.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti. Organisation of American States (OAS) Secretary General Albert Ramdin has said Haiti needs greater international support to fight gangs and regain control of territory before its first general elections in more than a decade.
After meeting Haiti's prime minister and other officials, Ramdin said the UN-backed gang suppression force needs more personnel, equipment and funding to tackle the crisis effectively.
"The efforts of the (force) are essential to improving security and public safety, and to creating the conditions for a safe electoral process," he said. "Progress must be visible and measurable as soon as possible."
Security priorities
Ramdin said Haiti's immediate priorities include securing key routes to the main international airport, keeping access to the airport and seaport open, and restoring safe passage to the southern region, much of which is controlled by gangs.
He urged Haiti to speed up voter registration and identification ahead of the December 13 general election.
Haiti has been without a president since Jovenel Moïse was killed in 2021, and gang violence has displaced about 1.5 million people.
Ramdin said the OAS would work with the Pan American Health Organization to set up trauma centres for police officers injured in confrontations with gangs, which control large parts of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. He also plans to form a delegation of business leaders to explore investment opportunities in Haiti.
"Haiti is at a decisive point," he said. "The future of Haiti belongs first and foremost to the Haitian people."
Cuba challenges Washington
Cuba's UN ambassador, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, has criticised the United States for imposing new sanctions while calling on Cuba to expand private investment.
He questioned why US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was restricting the very economic reforms Washington had long urged Cuba to adopt.
"What are you afraid of?" he asked. "If you are so convinced that the Cuban government is an incompetent government, why do you need to implement almost every two weeks new sanctions?"
The US has imposed further sanctions on Cuban mining, metal and construction companies, and Rubio has warned that more measures will follow.
The sanctions, together with the long-standing US embargo and oil blockade, have deepened Cuba's economic crisis, causing power cuts, transport disruption and shortages of food and medicine.
Guzmán said the measures were the biggest obstacle to growth, deterring investors and tourists. Several companies, including Spanish hotel chain Meliá, have withdrawn from the country because of mounting operational and financial difficulties.
