Haiti is in crisis, but foreign intervention comes with an ugly past

Chaos on the streets of Port-au-Prince.& Guerinault Louis/Anadolu via Getty Images by Ernesto Sagás, Colorado State University Haiti is fast becoming a failed state. Armed gangs control most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and have forced the shutdown of the capital’s international airport and gasoline refinery. Most businesses are closed or are being extorted by the gangs. Ordinary Haitians fear for their safety without the umbrella of law and order that only the government can provide. But there is not much government left: Elections have not been held since 2016; the last president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in 2021; and the current prime minister and acting president, Ariel Henry, is stuck in Puerto Rico, unable to fly back to Haiti. It is increasingly becoming clear that Haiti has neither the means nor the ability to pull itself out of this quagmire on its own, raising the prospect of – and calls for – foreign intervention. So far, to that end, Kenya has offered 1,000 armed policemen; other countries may chip in. The United States and Europe have pledged millions of dollars in aid. But can a multinational security mission provide Haiti with a way out of its current crisis? My experience...