Haiti's Instability and Its Effect on U.S. Security Published June 2, 2025 By Odi Diambra Have you ever wondered why the United States is concerned with stability in Haiti? Is it because of its proximity to South Florida? Perhaps it is due to the illegal smuggling of drugs to the United States through the Caribbean corridor? Gang violence is a key strategic issue in Haiti because of its impact on political instability and economic decline. The effects of gang violence in Haiti also impact United States security because it creates a breeding ground for drug trafficking, money laundering, and illegal migration. Washington should respond by leveraging the Haitian diaspora to engage in political dialogue, expand intelligence sharing, and broaden economic incentives through increased trade. Political Instability Dysfunctional politics are a systemic issue that has created and continues to exacerbate gang violence in Haiti. The absence of political stability fosters lawlessness, which has persisted in Haiti for years. Almost all the ills facing Haitian society, such as emigration, drug trafficking, severe poverty, and economic decline, originate from a dysfunctional political system.[1] For example, Haiti, for the last 40 years, has witnessed a series of coups d'état, military insurrections, rigged elections, and foreign interference,[2] contributing to ongoing political instability. Gang violence interacts with political instability because politicians created different gangs, used corruption to bypass the rule of law and perpetuated the violence that exists in Haiti today.[3] In Haitian politics, winners take all; therefore, losers undermine winners.[4] This cut-throat approach to politics created the current dilemma with gangs, violence, and crime prevalent across the country. Since politicians undermined each other using the Haitian military, police, and gangs to intimidate their opponents, with the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, those same gangs, along with former police and military officials, are now filling the security void.[5] The capital city, Port-au-Prince, is run by 92 gangs,[6] with a monopoly on violence. The situation is unprecedented. The number of homicides and kidnappings is rising exponentially, and sexual violence is used to control the population in gang-controlled areas of the capital.[7] Homicides in Haiti jumped from 980 in 2014 to 4,789 in 2023, a 388 percent increase in less than 10 years.[8] The gangs that politicians created in Haiti are now running the country.[9] Haitian gangs were so influential that when President Moise’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, assumed power after the former’s assassination, the leading gang members eventually pushed him to resign because he did not meet their demands.[10] These gangs use violence to intimidate officials and citizens alike. They released over 4,000 prisoners and killed or kidnapped more than 8,400 people.[11] Gang violence, born of dysfunctional politics, has reached a tipping point and is now a key strategic security issue for Haiti. With the assassination of President Moise and the resignation of his Prime Minister, Henry, a quick path to political stability in Haiti is uncertain. The most powerful armed groups will exert a significant influence in peace negotiations and the formation of a new government, introducing violent and corrupt thugs into an already fragile and dysfunctional political environment. In a March 2024 interview, gang alliance leader Jimmy Cherizier warned that until he and other gang leaders are invited to the negotiating table, Haiti will not know peace.[12] Nevertheless, involving gang leaders in politics could lead to perpetual violence if the ruling elite does not address gang leaders’ demands. Economic Decline Economic decline further exacerbates gang violence in Haiti, as the lack of jobs and opportunities to earn a living increases gang recruitment, which perpetuates the violence. With increased violence, communities and businesses cannot thrive, causing a decline in business activities and trade. After the earthquake of 2010, Haiti struggled to re-establish itself but has not recovered since. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with 86 percent of the population earning less than two dollars a day and 56 percent earning less than one dollar a day.[13] Only 10 percent of the population has access to electricity, and merely eight percent has access to drinking water.[14] Haiti benefited from a $1.2 billion debt cancellation in 2009, but it will not thrive until it addresses its political instability through both a democratically elected and functioning government, the last of which existed in 1991, according to some analysts.[15] Haiti’s economy is further declining due to corruption between officials and armed groups, which stifles any hopes of economic recovery. Since 2020, Haiti’s gross domestic product has come primarily from trade. Trade alone is 41 percent of Haiti’s gross domestic product, with textiles accounting for 85 percent of all exports, most of which were destined for the United States.[16] Unfortunately, revenue from trade is no longer in the country’s financial coffers. Political parties that controlled the government were corrupt and embezzled public funds. Like many Central and South American countries, corruption is an epidemic that slows economic growth and worsens development beyond capital cities. Moreover, armed groups are holding the country hostage. They control the national port, airport, and banks, preventing and controlling all aid and resources entering Haiti.[17] For a country that depends heavily on trade, closing the national port means no access to food for a population already facing chronic famine, resulting in a loss of $1.85 billion in export revenue.[18] With violence raging in Port-Au-Prince, tourists are not visiting, adding to a loss of $620 million in revenue from 1.3 million tourists, according to 2018 figures.[19] Impact on US National Security Gang violence in Haiti impacts US Security interests through spillover effects of illicit drug smuggling, money laundering, and illegal migration, which armed groups in Haiti use to fund their activities. A lack of security apparatus due to dysfunctional politics enables illicit activities to occur, while the dire economic situation on the island is a push factor for illegal migration to the US. With Haiti’s proximity to Florida, the potential for these illicit activities to occur on a larger scale is likely due to access to the larger US market. Although Haiti is not a producer of illicit drugs like other nations in South and Central America, it does participate in the illegal smuggling of drugs through the Caribbean corridor, which accounts for 40 percent of drugs destined for the United States.[20] Illegal drug trafficking is a national security concern and ranks high among priorities in the Trump administration. In 2024, 84,000 Americans died due to drug overdose.[21] As such, and as directed by President Trump, stopping the flow of illegal drugs trafficked into the United States is of national interest. The second busiest High-Intensity Drug Trafficking (HIDTA) area is in South Florida, stemming from increased trafficking of drugs from Haiti and other Caribbean islands.[22] Additionally, gangs are not just involved in drug smuggling but also money laundering. The majority of the laundered currency is the US dollar.[23] Dysfunctional politics, along with weak judicial and financial systems, make money laundering a lucrative venture for Haitians. Money laundering is a concern for US national security because it conceals illicit activities, such as drug and weapons smuggling, corruption, and human trafficking. Therefore, if money laundering is left unchecked, it could expand illegal activities and criminal enterprises and adversely affect the fabric of American society through increased crime and corruption. A court in Miami sentenced a former Haitian gang member to prison for laundering kidnapping ransoms and illegally smuggling US firearms to Haiti.[24] One of the most glaring impacts of security issues in Haiti, which also affects the United States, is illegal migration. Extreme economic despair, plus the lack of essential services, compels Haitians to seek better opportunities in the United States against all odds. Undocumented Haitian migrants in the US represent a subset of a larger migration pattern, with the undocumented migrant population in the United States increasing from 2 million in 1980 to more than 11 million by 2010.[25] The number reached 13 million in 2024.[26] In fiscal year 2022, the US Coast Guard interdicted 7,137 Haitians at sea.[27] These operations require time and resources that could be used to prevent other, more pressing national security issues. Although the number of Haitians getting interdicted on the high seas is decreasing, there is an increase in Haitians arriving illegally at the US border through the Central American corridor. In 2023, 46,422 Haitians crossed the Darien Gap to the United States.[28] Most migrants coming from Haiti do so for economic reasons, making them ineligible to seek asylum in the United States under current US law.[29] US Military Interventions Since the Haitian slave revolt, which saw the defeat of Napoleon’s army and the birth of the Haitian Republic, the United States has had a complicated relationship with Haiti. The United States was uneasy about Haitian revolution ideologies spreading to the United States and did not recognize Haiti until 1862, 58 years after Haitian independence.[30] The first US military intervention in Haiti was in 1915, leading to an American occupation that lasted until 1934. There were two main reasons for the intervention. The first and most important was to stabilize a volatile Haiti, which risked destabilizing trade and commerce near the recently constructed Panama Canal. In building the Panama Canal, the United States aimed to maintain control and order in the surrounding Central American and Caribbean region.[31] The second reason was related to the Monroe Doctrine, which sought to establish the Caribbean, Central, and South America as US spheres of influence, especially as Germany expanded towards Central and South America in the early 1900s. Therefore, US intervention in Haiti aimed to counter German influence in the Caribbean.[32] A second US military intervention in Haiti occurred in 1994 during Operation Uphold Democracy, which sought to reinstall President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was pushed out of office due to a military coup d'état. The coup operators were brutal to Aristide’s supporters, and, as the humanitarian and security situation deteriorated, President Bill Clinton sent in the US military after numerous failed diplomatic attempts.[33] Recently, the United States military has provided humanitarian support to Haiti after tragic natural disasters. This includes 2016, when over 2,000 service members and countless ships and aircraft provided humanitarian relief.[34] US involvement with Haiti began in 1862 and included several military interventions and an occupation to protect US regional interests, yielding mixed results. US Warfighting Advantage Using the military instrument of power to solve diplomatic challenges does not work. In Haiti’s case, it exacerbated Haitian autonomy and made the Haitian government dependent on US and NGO support. Although the United States called its 1994 military intervention in Haiti a success, it was a structural failure because Haiti became mired in International Monetary Fund and World Bank loans, decimated its local food production, and became dependent on international organization funding and budgets.[35] Even James Dobbins, who was the US Special Envoy at the time, recounts the limitations of the military intervention in the long term.[36] Furthermore, the United States used military interventions in 1915, 1994, and throughout the 2000s as part of International coalitions. Despite these multiple interventions and billions of dollars in aid, Haiti is no better off. US and NGO investments in healthcare, education, governance, human rights, and policing provided minimal results. Instead, the United States should let Haiti craft its solutions or leverage the developmental and economic instruments of power instead of the military. Doing so will allow the US military to focus its limited resources and manpower towards a more emerging threat, like competition with China. We must learn from the mistakes that contributed to the decline of the British, French, and Spanish empires and exercise ruthless prioritization of the US military and American resources to avoid comparable instances of overstretch.[37] Recommendations Firstly, the United States should adopt a non-interference approach to Haiti's political problems and use diplomacy to support Haitian aspirations. According to some analysts, after billions of dollars spent on humanitarian aid from the international community, Haiti remains no better off than it was in 1986, at the end of the Duvalier regime.[38] NGOs typically receive a large share of the aid to Haiti, leading to government agencies becoming inept at providing essential services to its citizens.[39] The cycle will prevent meaningful development in Haiti. For instance, of the $2 billion in aid after the 2010 earthquake, only one percent went to the government of Haiti, with the rest to aid agencies like the Red Cross and United Nations for their disaster response.[40] Hence, the United States and the international community must take a different approach and support Haiti’s development in finding grassroots solutions. One way is to leverage the Haitian diaspora to engage in meaningful ways with a newly formed government. The diaspora can help jump-start the economy with business opportunities backed by the US government through dedicated business loan programs. Remittances to Haiti in 2023 amounted to $3.8 billion, representing 20 percent of Haiti’s gross domestic product.[41] Instead of using remittances to consume, Haitians can use them to invest in reconstruction efforts, providing more long-lasting solutions to Haiti’s financial woes. The US government can support through loan guarantees and mobilizing the Haitian diaspora to help rebuild Haiti. This is a minimal development investment on the part of the United States, but the return could be more significant than in the past. Secondly, the United States must leverage law enforcement and increase its DEA footprint in Haiti to collaborate with Haitian officials to conduct asset forfeiture of those committing drug crimes and interdict the flow of drugs from Haiti to the United States. As an example, the container facility in Panama, PSA Panama, had a DEA presence at its facility to curb the flow of drugs from Panama to the United States.[42] A similar approach in Haiti is necessary to tackle drug trafficking through the Caribbean corridor. A DEA representative should be stationed at the Port-Au-Prince International Port to assist in disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and money laundering operations. Lastly, the United States can assist Haiti in finding lasting solutions to its financial dilemma by maintaining and expanding current trade agreements with Port-Au-Prince. Currently, Haiti has several preferential trade agreements with the United States, such as the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Agreement (CBTPA) and the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act (Haiti HOPE I & II), which provide duty-free access to the United States for Haitian goods.[43] Haiti exports $844 million in goods to the United States, of which apparel accounts for $789 million.[44] The apparel trade between Haiti and the US could grow, especially as the Trump administration seeks to reduce US dependence on cheap Chinese goods. Chinese apparel exports to the US total $36 billion each year, far surpassing the $789 million from Haiti.[45] A shift in procuring more apparel in Haiti would reduce dependence on China and exponentially rekindle Haiti’s economy. If Haitians had a secure way to earn a living, they would be less likely to engage in money laundering and drug smuggling or illegally migrate to the United States. With good governance and sound fiscal discipline, Haiti can become more productive, and its citizens can live a dignified life, with fewer looking to illicit activities to fund their livelihood. Conclusion To conclude, gang violence creates national security challenges for Haiti because of its damaging impact on politics and the economy. These issues also affect the United States national security, contributing to problems like drug trafficking, money laundering, and illegal migration. As the saying goes, “If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day; if you teach him how to fish, he will eat forever.”[46] Haiti needs to learn how to fish. The United States’ approach to the instability in Haiti is ineffective. After 60 years of aid and interference, it is time to pursue a new strategy focused on non-interference to help Haiti discover grassroots solutions to its own political challenges. Further, the United States should increase its DEA footprint on the island and use trade as an incentive for good governance, security, and stability. Haiti is too close to the United States for any administration to ignore. Stability in Haiti is crucial to the United States national security because its proximity to Florida creates a spillover effect of illicit activities if left unchecked. Lt Col Odi Diambra is a U.S. Air Force officer with over 20 years of service, currently attending the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. A seasoned aircraft maintenance leader, he has overseen operations for a wide range of platforms including the C-5, KC-135, F-16, B-1B, C-130H/J, MQ-1, and MQ-9. His career includes command and staff roles across the Middle East and the United States, including serving as Chief of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) at the U.S. Embassy in Jordan and Joint Training Manager in Egypt. He holds graduate degrees in logistics, national security affairs, and strategic studies, and is fluent in Arabic and French. [1] Yasmine Shamsie, Andrew S. Thompson, and Centre for International Governance Innovation, eds., Haiti: Hope for a Fragile State, Studies in International Governance Ser (Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2006), 30. [2] “Haiti’s 40 Years of Political Instability,” March 14, 2024. [3] Henry Shuldiner, “Haiti Violence Surges as Gangs Expand Influence,” InSight Crime, January 24, 2025. [4] Shamsie, Thompson, and Centre for International Governance Innovation, Haiti, 30. [5] Shamsie, Thompson, and Centre for International Governance Innovation, 30. [6] Human Rights Watch, “Haiti: Events of 2022,” in World Report 2023, 2023. [7] Human Rights Watch. [8] “Number of Homicides in Haiti 2023,” Statista, accessed May 2, 2025. [9] Shuldiner, “Haiti Violence Surges as Gangs Expand Influence.” [10] “What to Know about the Crisis of Violence, Politics and Hunger Engulfing Haiti,” NBC News, March 15, 2024. [11] “What to Know about the Crisis of Violence, Politics and Hunger Engulfing Haiti.” [12] Jean-Michel Hauteville, “The Rise of Gangs in Haiti Has Enabled Them to Claim Power,” April 5, 2024. [13] Robert Fatton, Haiti: Trapped in the Outer Periphery (Boulder (Colo.): Lynne Rienner publishers, 2014), 13. [14] Fatton, 56. [15] “Haiti’s 200-Year Economic Earthquake,” CEPR, January 28, 2010. [16] “Haiti’s Troubled Path to Development | Council on Foreign Relations,” accessed March 25, 2025. [17] “What to Know about the Crisis of Violence, Politics and Hunger Engulfing Haiti.” [18] “Haiti’s Troubled Path to Development | Council on Foreign Relations.” [19] “Haiti’s Troubled Path to Development | Council on Foreign Relations.” [20] “The CARICOM Blueprint for Illicit Drug Trafficking,” COHA (blog), December 28, 2011. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) representative confirmed that Haiti and the Dominican Republic are drug smuggling routes through the Caribbean and destined for Florida. [21] Brian Mann, “In New Assessment, Trump Team Ranks Fentanyl as a Top Threat to U.S.,” NPR, March 25, 2025, sec. Politics. [22] US Government Official, “High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area” (San Diego Imperial Valley HIDTA, February 1, 2025). [23] “Haiti,” U.S. Department of State, accessed February 17, 2025, [24] “US Court Sentences Haiti Ex-Gang Leader to 35 Years in Prison | Reuters,” accessed May 2, 2025. [25] Peter H. Smith and James Naylor Green, Modern Latin America, Ninth edition (New York Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019), 495. [26] Steven A. Camarota and Karen Zeigler, “The Foreign-Born Share and Number at Record Highs in February 2024,” CIS.org, March 28, 2024. [27] Human Rights Watch, “Haiti.” [28] “The New Humanitarian | The Darién Gap Migration Crisis in Six Graphs, and One Map,” January 15, 2024. [29] “8 USC 1158: Asylum,” accessed March 24, 2025. [30] “Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations - Office of the Historian,” accessed April 25, 2025. [31] Hans Schmidt, The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934 (Rutgers University Press, 1995), 43. [32] Schmidt, 9. [33] Rachael Bunyan, “25 Years After ‘Operation Uphold Democracy,’ Experts Say the Oft-Forgotten U.S. Military Intervention Still Shapes Life in Haiti,” TIME, September 20, 2019. [34] “U.S. Military Task Force Aids Humanitarian Efforts in Haiti,” U.S. Southern Command, accessed April 25, 2025. [35] Bunyan, “25 Years After ‘Operation Uphold Democracy,’ Experts Say the Oft-Forgotten U.S. Military Intervention Still Shapes Life in Haiti.” [36] Bunyan. [37] “Was Paul Kennedy Right? American Decline 30 Years On,” War on the Rocks, June 17, 2015. [38] Fatton, Haiti, 3. [39] Fatton, 3. [40] Fatton, 106. [41] Dieudonné Joachim, “Experts Urge Shift of Haitian Diaspora Remittances toward Investment,” The Haitian Times, April 12, 2024. [42] Fatton, 106. [43] International Trade Administration and U.S. Department of Commerce, “Haiti - Trade Agreements,” May 27, 2024. [44] “United States (USA) and Haiti (HTI) Trade,” The Observatory of Economic Complexity, accessed May 5, 2025. [45] “United States (USA) and Haiti (HTI) Trade.” [46] Lance Taylor, “‘GIVE A MAN A FISH...’ AND FOREIGN AID,” n.d.