(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Biden administration will deliver $110 million in taxpayer-funded aid to Haiti, even after the poverty-stricken country’s prime minister raised alarms about rampant corruption within his government.
On Thursday, a Biden official told Reuters that the U.S. will provide the multi-million aid package for security and police assistance.
“The security situation in Haiti remains untenable due to violence perpetrated by violent gangs, and the people of Haiti cannot wait,” the official claimed.
The announcement coincided with Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille’s remarks about public corruption within the government he inherited after being appointed as acting prime minister in June.
“Nearly 30% of public workers receive money from the federal government without actually working,” Conille said during a press conference from the Haitian capital on Friday, according to EFE. “These are things that we are obliged to correct immediately, and we are going to take measures to correct everything.”
The $110 million aid includes $95 million for security and $15 million for the Haitian National Police, which has struggled against violent criminal gangs reigning over Haiti.
The Biden administration’s aid package bypasses the will of Republicans in Congress who have placed a hold on U.S. aid to Haiti.
“The Biden Administration’s choice to override the hold I had placed on U.S. taxpayer funding for the ill-conceived Haiti MSS (Multinational Security Support Mission) is extremely disappointing,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told Reuters.
The Republican hold on Haitian aid comes after the Biden administration failed to properly detail the strategic plan for Haitian security.
“The human suffering and devolving crisis in Haiti is tragic. Yet, after years of discussions, repeated requests for information, and providing partial funding to help them plan, the administration only this afternoon sent us a rough plan to address this crisis,” Risch said in March.
“Whether it’s ‘credible and implementable’ remains to be seen. Given the long history of U.S. involvement in Haiti with few successful results, the administration owes Congress a lot more details in a more timely manner before it gets more funding,” he added.
The statement was co-signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas.
Haiti is currently in turmoil as gangs have seized control of several parts of the country, releasing thousands of criminals who were held in two of its largest federal prisons.
