The Haitian government has signed a contract with Erik Prince, founder of the private military company Blackwater and a close ally of Donald Trump, to combat the uncontrolled rise of armed gangs terrorizing the country and threatening to take control of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Nature of the contract and current operations
- Erik Prince, through his private security companies (Blackwater no longer exists, but he owns other similar companies), was recruited to carry out lethal operations against the criminal groups responsible for massive violence and the seizure of vast territories in Haiti.
- Since March 2025, Prince’s team has been operating armed drones to target gang members. However, no capture or elimination of high-level targets has yet been officially announced.
- Prince is also looking to recruit up to 150 mercenaries, including Haitian and Haitian-American military veterans, to be sent to Port-au-Prince. A large shipment of weapons has already been sent to Haiti, and further deliveries are expected to intensify the fight against the gangs.
Context and reactions
- This initiative comes at a time when Haiti’s national police force, under-equipped and overwhelmed, is struggling to contain gangs that control large parts of the capital and have displaced nearly a million people.
- The use of Prince comes against a backdrop of partial failure of international missions, notably the US-backed, Kenyan-led police mission, which has been unable to mobilize sufficient resources to stabilize the situation.
- US authorities are aware of Prince’s collaboration with Haiti, but the State Department claims not to be funding its operations. Details of the contract, including fees, remain confidential.
Debates and concerns
- Prince’s involvement is raising concerns, not least because of its controversial past (Blackwater is infamous for a massacre of civilians in Iraq) and the lack of direct American supervision in this contract. Some experts fear a lack of transparency and accountability.
- Prince also reportedly intends to expand its role in Haiti to other sectors, such as customs, transport and revenue collection, in a country plagued by corruption and institutional crisis.
Conclusion
The Haitian government’s decision to call on Erik Prince marks a turning point in the fight against gangs, illustrating the seriousness of the security crisis and the resort to extreme solutions in the face of state collapse and the ineffectiveness of traditional international interventions.