Washington: Canada will deploy Navy vessels to conduct surveillance off the coast of Haiti in the coming weeks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in remarks at an annual meeting of Caribbean leaders in the Bahamas.
“Today I am announcing that Canada will also deploy Royal Canadian Navy vessels to conduct surveillance, gather intelligence and maintain a maritime presence off the Haitian coast in the coming weeks,” Trudeau said on Thursday.
A central issue has been Haiti’s rising killings, rapes, and kidnappings believed to be related to gang activity, which has burgeoned since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July of 2021.
Trudeau also announced that Canada is going to provide direct support to bolster the Haitian National Police to equip Haiti with the tools and support to degrade the gangs’ devastating impact in the area and to enable the police to be more effective on the ground.
In January, Canada provided the Haitian National Police with armored vehicles to combat gangs and deliver humanitarian assistance. In October of 2022, the United States and Canada had delivered armored vehicles and other security equipment to Haiti to help local authorities in the fight against gang violence amid a grave humanitarian crisis.
