In a move that’s sending ripples through the international security community and raising eyebrows among human rights advocates, Vectus Global—a private security firm run by Erik Prince, the founder of the infamous Blackwater—will soon deploy nearly 200 personnel from around the world to Haiti. The mission? To help the embattled Haitian government wrest control of territory from heavily armed gangs and restore basic state functions, including tax collection, after years of spiraling violence and instability.
According to The Associated Press and Reuters, Vectus Global’s deployment is part of a one-year deal with Haiti’s government. The company, which specializes in logistics, infrastructure, and defense, will send contractors from the United States, Europe, and El Salvador. These personnel are not just your average security guards—they include snipers, intelligence experts, and communications specialists, all supported by boats and helicopters.
Erik Prince, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and a major donor to former President Donald Trump, told Reuters that he expects Vectus Global to regain control of gang-held roads and territory within a year. He set a clear benchmark for success: “One key measure of success for me will be when you can drive from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien in a thin-skinned vehicle and not be stopped by gangs.”
But the mission isn’t just about brute force. Prince revealed that Vectus Global will also help Haiti rebuild its battered tax collection system, particularly at the border with the Dominican Republic. Taxation at this border once accounted for half of Haiti’s government revenue, but with gangs now controlling key transport routes, the state’s ability to fund even basic services has been crippled. “The company would be involved in creating and implementing a system to tax products crossing Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic once security was restored,” Prince told Reuters.
Vectus Global’s involvement in Haiti began quietly in March 2025, primarily through drone operations in coordination with a government task force. However, the scale of their activities is set to increase dramatically in the coming weeks, with hundreds of contractors expected to work alongside Haiti’s National Police and a United Nations-backed, Kenya-led police mission. That U.N. mission, launched last year, has struggled to restore order, with just 991 personnel deployed—far fewer than the 2,500 originally envisioned—and only 14% of its estimated $800 million annual budget secured, according to a recent U.N. report cited by AP.
The timing of this private deployment is critical. Haiti is facing a dire security crisis, with a patchwork of gangs—some with deep political and business connections—tightening their grip on the capital and beyond. The situation worsened dramatically after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and recent months have seen an escalation in violence, including coordinated attacks by the powerful gang federation Viv Ansanm. Formed in September 2023 through the merger of rival gangs G-9 and G-Pèp, Viv Ansanm has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and is blamed for a series of large-scale attacks, including prison breaks that freed some 4,000 inmates and the months-long closure of Haiti’s main international airport.
From April to June 2025 alone, at least 1,520 people were killed and more than 600 injured across Haiti, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti. Over 60% of these casualties occurred during security force operations against gangs, with another 12% attributed to self-defense groups. The violence has displaced approximately 1.3 million people in recent years—a staggering figure for a nation already reeling from political and economic turmoil.
The Haitian government has been tight-lipped about the details of its arrangement with Vectus Global. In June, Fritz Alphonse Jean, then-leader of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, confirmed the use of foreign contractors but declined to identify the firm or disclose the contract’s value. Prince himself told Reuters that Vectus Global holds a 10-year contract with Haiti, though he would not comment on its worth.
While some in Haiti see the deployment as a necessary response to an overwhelming crisis, critics warn of serious risks. Gedeon Jean, head of Haiti’s Center for Human Rights Analysis and Research, told AP, “Resorting to private military companies cannot be seen as a solution to insecurity in Haiti. The use of private companies has often resulted in human rights violations.” The shadow of Blackwater’s past looms large—Prince’s former company gained global notoriety after four employees were convicted for the 2007 killings of 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. Those contractors were later pardoned by President Trump, but the episode remains a cautionary tale.
Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, head of the Haiti program at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, went further, warning that Vectus Global’s mission could violate U.S. law unless Washington has granted explicit permission. “In the absence of a coherent, jointly led Haitian and international strategy, the use of private firms is more likely to fragment authority and sovereignty than to advance resolution of the crisis,” he said to AP and NPR.
The U.S. government, for its part, has distanced itself from the operation. A Trump administration official told AP that the U.S. government has no involvement with the hiring of Vectus Global by the Haitian government, is not funding the contract, and is exercising no oversight. The office of Haiti’s prime minister and members of the transitional presidential council have not responded to requests for comment.
There are also concerns about precedent. Earlier this year, another U.S. security firm, Studebaker Defense, withdrew from Haiti after two of its personnel were abducted—an incident reportedly linked to corrupt police officials, according to The New York Times. This underscores the dangers facing foreign contractors in Haiti and the complex web of alliances and rivalries that define the country’s security landscape.
On the ground, the newly appointed police director general, André Jonas Vladimir Paraison, has been tasked with leading the charge against the gangs. Paraison, who once served as head of security for Haiti’s National Palace, has been involved in a new task force employing both police units and private contractors. This task force has operated outside the usual oversight of Haiti’s National Police and has used explosive drones—a tactic that has drawn criticism from human rights activists.
Yet, as Diego Da Rin, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, cautioned, “There is a risk of escalating the conflict without having enough personnel to extinguish the fires that Viv Ansanm can ignite in many places.” The stakes are high, and the outcome is far from certain.
With Haiti’s government betting on private security to turn the tide, the coming months will serve as a test of whether foreign contractors can deliver stability—or if their presence will only deepen the country’s crisis. For now, the people of Haiti wait, hoping for relief from a violence that has upended daily life and left millions in fear.
