A U.S. Navy warship has arrived off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, joining two U.S. Coast Guard cutters patrolling nearby waters, as political instability grows ahead of a key transition deadline.
The USS Southland, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, reached the area days before the Feb. 7 deadline marking the end of the mandate for Haiti’s nine-member Transitional Presidential Council. The Trump administration has deployed multiple naval vessels to the Caribbean amid regional uncertainty.
Some members of the transitional council have said they plan to step down, while others continue to participate in transition discussions, despite U.S. officials stating their mandate ends Saturday.
The council was installed in April 2024 to temporarily assume presidential powers until national elections or Feb. 7, whichever came first. Elections are scheduled for later this year, though many observers question whether they can proceed due to ongoing gang violence.
Amid the impasse, at least five separate political groups are engaged in talks over Haiti’s governance post-Feb. 7, former parliamentarian Antoine Rodon Bien-Aimé said during an interview on Magik9 radio.
Bien-Aimé attended a meeting backed by council members Louis Gérald Gilles, Leslie Voltaire, and Edgard Leblanc. He described the dialogue as disorganized, with some participants vying for continued involvement in the transition or future political roles.
All three council members are among five recently subjected to U.S. visa restrictions following attempts to remove Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, despite U.S. warnings that their authority would expire Saturday.
“We said, ‘No, not one member of the [council] can remain,’” Bien-Aimé said. “Their time is up; they did not give results, they did not respect their accord, what they signed; they have to leave.”
Concerns over potential unrest have grown amid rumors of a possible return by former President Michel Martelly and reports of mobilization by some groups. Authorities have taken steps to reopen roads and push back armed gangs, using police units and drone surveillance.
Despite limited gains from those operations, violence persists. On Jan. 29, a 4-month-old boy was killed by armed gangs in Kenscoff, in the hills above Port-au-Prince.
On Sunday, the Viv Ansanm gang coalition attacked the FIFA Goal Center, known as the Ranch, in Croix-des-Bouquets. The center, which trains elite soccer players, was vandalized, looted, and partially burned. The Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Civic Action confirmed the incident and condemned the damage to what it called a national sports heritage site.
