Radios crackled with anticipation across Haiti on Wednesday, as news spread that the United Nations Security Council had approved a sweeping new international response to the country’s deepening crisis. In a decisive move on October 1, 2025, the Council voted 12-0—with China, Russia, and Pakistan abstaining—to authorize a powerful new Gang Suppression Force (GSF) tasked with quelling the rampant gang violence that has gripped Haiti since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.
The resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Panama, marks a dramatic escalation in international efforts to stabilize Haiti. It replaces the beleaguered Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, which has struggled with chronic underfunding and limited manpower since its deployment in June 2024. According to the Associated Press, the MSS was supposed to field 2,500 troops but currently has fewer than 1,000, leaving it unable to keep pace with the gangs’ expansion.
Under the new mandate, the GSF will consist of up to 5,550 uniformed personnel—both police and soldiers—plus 50 civilian staff, all funded by voluntary contributions. This is a significant increase over the MSS mission and, crucially, grants the force the power to arrest suspected gang members, a tool the previous mission lacked. The mission will operate for an initial 12-month period under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, meaning it is authorized to use military force if necessary.
For many Haitians, the news brought a flicker of hope amid years of unrelenting violence. Darlene Jean-Jacques, who now lives with her 10-year-old son in a crowded shelter after gangs raided their neighborhood and killed her partner, told Reuters, “I’m hoping these people are serious this time. A force to come and support Haitians would be wonderful so people can have their life back.” Still, as Reuters noted, both ordinary Haitians and experts remain cautious, mindful of the checkered history of international interventions in the country.
The scale of the challenge is staggering. Since Moïse’s assassination, gangs have seized control of 90% of Port-au-Prince, the capital, and have extended their reach into the countryside. Their activities—looting, kidnapping, sexual assaults, and rape—have forced more than a million people into internal exile. “Entire neighborhoods are disappearing, forcing more than a million people into internal exile and reducing to nothing memories, investments and infrastructure,” Laurent Saint-Cyr, leader of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, told the Latin Times last week at the UN General Assembly. “This is the face of Haiti today, a country at war, a contemporary Guernica, a human tragedy on America’s doorstep.”
UN figures cited by UN News paint a grim picture: more than 5,500 people were killed in gang violence in 2024 alone, and nearly 1.3 million have been displaced. The gangs’ grip threatens not only public safety but the very existence of the Haitian state. US Ambassador Mike Waltz put it bluntly: “It is a hope that has been rapidly slipping away as terrorist gangs expanded their territory, raped, pillaged, murdered and terrorized the Haitian population…(and) jeopardized the very existence of the Haitian state.”
The new force’s mandate is ambitious. According to the Security Council’s seven-page resolution, the GSF is authorized to conduct “intelligence-led targeted, counter-gang operations to neutralize, isolate, and deter gangs that continue to threaten the civilian population, abuse human rights and undermine Haitian institutions.” It will also provide security for vital infrastructure—airports, seaports, schools, hospitals, and power plants—working alongside the Haitian police and armed forces. The resolution further empowers the GSF to support efforts to combat the illicit trafficking and diversion of arms, a key factor fueling the gangs’ rise.
Henry Wooster, the US chargé d’affaires in Haiti, underscored the urgency and military character of the mission. “To be clear, the mission is colored overwhelmingly as military due to the urban combat nature of it,” he told Latin Times. “But also happy to take police.” Wooster compared the situation to an emergency room scenario: “You’ve got to stop the bleeding immediately. You can’t let them bleed out. It’s impossible to attend to the other aspects of the problem if you have not achieved security. So that is our objective. That’s why getting the UN Security Council resolution passed now is so crucial, and that’s why the focus in that resolution is stability and security.”
Despite the broad support for the resolution, not everyone was convinced. China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong criticized the measure, arguing it “risks exacerbating Haiti’s already complex and dire situation.” He also called out the United States for not providing promised funding to the Kenya-led force and for owing $800 million to the UN peacekeeping budget while asking other countries to shoulder the financial burden. Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia echoed these concerns, saying, “The Security Council is once again being thrust into a dangerous and poorly thought-out venture.” He warned that previous UN resolutions had failed to produce sustainable results and predicted the new mission could meet the same fate.
On the ground, the fate of the Kenyan police officers already deployed in Haiti remained uncertain as of October 2, 2025, the day the MSS mandate expired. Kenya’s Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja told local media that the National Police Service had yet to receive official instructions regarding the next steps. For now, the transition to the new force—and the logistics of deploying thousands of additional personnel—remains a work in progress.
For Haitian leaders, the Security Council’s vote represents a rare moment of optimism. “This vote marks a decisive turning point in the fight against armed criminal groups that are causing grief for our families, paralyzing our economy and threatening the future of our nation,” said Laurent Saint-Cyr, as reported by the Associated Press. Panama’s UN Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba echoed this sentiment, expressing confidence that the new force could “re-establish the security that is needed for political reconstruction and the holding of elections,” as well as revive the economy and create opportunities for Haitians.
Yet, as radios buzz and families like Darlene Jean-Jacques’s cling to hope, the real test lies ahead. With the stakes higher than ever and the world’s eyes on Haiti, the coming months will reveal whether this new international effort can finally stem the tide of violence and help the country reclaim its future.
