Guatemalan and Salvadorian forces arrive in Haiti to join fight against violent gangs
#News #Haiti #Guatemala #ElSalvador
A group of security forces from Guatemala and El Salvador arrived in Haiti on Friday to reinforce a multinational mission tasked with tackling the country’s rampant gang violence, the Haitian National Police announced.
The 75 Guatemalan and eight Salvadoran troops were greeted on the tarmac of the international airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, by a host of high-ranking officials, video released by the police shows.
The officials included the leader of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council Leslie Voltaire, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, and the United States Ambassador to Haiti Dennis Hankins.
The troops will join the foreign police force known as the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission — a US and United Nations-backed initiative working with the Haitian police to restore security on the island amid an ongoing battle with the violent gangs.
In a statement, Normil Rameau, the acting director general of the National Police, said a “marriage” of the police with the people of Haiti remains “the most effective way to facilitate the total restoration of security and the establishment of lasting peace.”
Haiti has been ravaged by intensifying gang violence, which the government has struggled to contain in the aftermath of President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in 2021. The island nation has also grappled with natural disasters and a worsening hunger crisis.
The UN Security Council approved the launch of the MSS in 2023 after repeated pleas for international support from Haiti’s government. The mission received the support of the United States, which offered to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and resources.
However, the mission has not been without trouble. It is helmed by hundreds of Kenyan police officers, but their deployment was repeatedly delayed before eventually arriving in June last year. The officers then did not receive pay for months after their arrival.
Violence has continued to plague the country despite the mission’s presence. In November, the US civil aviation regulator grounded all flights to Haiti for weeks, after three jets from US-based airlines were struck by bullets while flying over Port-au-Prince. In a separate incident in October, gangs targeted US Embassy vehicles with gunfire, later prompting the evacuation of 20 embassy staffers.
Godfrey Otunge, the commander of the Kenyan troops in the MSS, welcomed the Guatemalan and Salvadorian soldiers on Friday while praising their partnership with the Haitian government.
“We don’t take it for granted. We have a prime minister who is also our friend,” Otunge said, according to the police video.
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GIF
Army general during battle: *gets killed. Soldiers fighting the battle:
war on medieval era, it was like that. #lmao #lol Read More...
Macron says Ukraine is an 'existential' fight for Europe as he makes two-day state visit to Portugal
French President Emmanuel Macron began a two-day state visit to Portugal to strengthen bilateral ties and encourage European unity as the fate of Ukraine remains uncertain under an increasingly critical Trump administration.
French President Emmanuel Macron began a two-day state visit to Portugal on Thursday where he was greeted by Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.
Macron and his wife Brigitte received a welcoming ceremony outside the Jeronimos Monastery in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Macron was later welcomed by his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa after the ceremony.
The French president’s trip to Portugal looks to boost bilateral ties between Paris and Lisbon and deepen European unity in a period of uncertainty.
European leaders have been urging for increased unity and cooperation after a dramatic shift in Washington’s foreign policy following the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
#Macron #Ukraine #Europe
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Ireland plans to buy first fighter jets in 50 years
Ireland’s planned purchase of combat jets and the development of a long-overdue national radar system mark a historic turning point in the country’s approach to air defence, ending decades of reliance on the United Kingdom to protect Irish skies.
Since 1998, when the Irish Air Corps disbanded its Light Strike Squadron, which operated aging French Fouga CM170 Magister jets, Ireland has had no combat jets. The country also lacks a primary radar system. Without these capabilities, a “secret bilateral pact” has seen the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) tasked with intercepting and responding to aerial threats in Irish airspace.
According to former Irish Air Corps head General Ralph James, this reliance on a foreign power, coupled with Ireland’s lack of radar coverage, has made the country “probably the most vulnerable” in Europe. Speaking at the Slándáil 2020 security summit, James warned that neutrality alone was not a defence strategy, stressing that Ireland must be able to deny its airspace to both sides in any future conflict.
#Ireland #News #AeroTime
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