(Port-au-Prince) US envoy to Haiti Daniel Foote has resigned, denouncing the US’ “inhumane” expulsions of thousands of Haitian immigrants at a time when the country is grappling with growing insecurity from armed gangs.
“I will not participate in the inhuman and counterproductive decision of the United States to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti, a country where our employees are held in secure compounds because of the danger posed by armed gangs that control daily life,” confirms Daniel Foot in his letter of resignation dated Wednesday. and addressed to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Photo by Ralph Teddy Errol, Reuters
Returning Haitian migrants walk toward a bus on the tarmac at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, September 21, 2021.
“We thank Special Envoy Foote for his commitment to the country and the people of Haiti,” the State Department replied at the request of AFP.
Daniel Foot was seeking to expand his power to make decisions about US policy toward Haiti, and the Biden administration decided it was not appropriate to give him too much control, and a senior official also responded under the guise of “anonymity.”
The United States had suspended expulsions of Haitian migrants in an irregular situation after the earthquake that devastated the southern half of Haiti on August 14, but more than 15,000 migrants, mostly Haitians, were regrouped under a bridge in a few days. Texas was a game-changer.
Since Sunday, US immigration services have already chartered 12 flights to bring back more than 1,400 people, including several hundred children, to the capital, Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien, the country’s second city.
Daniel Foote was appointed on July 22 with the aim of “facilitating peace and stability” and holding “free and fair” elections after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his private home by armed commandos on July 7.
The United States is one of the main powers most likely to exert influence over Haiti, a country that it occupied militarily for 19 years, from 1915 to 1934. But President Joe Biden has ruled out sending any American soldiers, despite the request. The direction of the Haitian government that wanted troops to secure the Caribbean nation.