Colombia’s Petro visits Haiti to help bolster security amid gang violence

The Colombian person opened a caller embassy successful Haiti, portion talks person been focused connected information and the combat against cause trafficking.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has travelled to Haiti for the 2nd clip this twelvemonth successful a important amusement of support, arsenic spiralling pack unit continues to plague the Caribbean country.

Petro’s visit, which began Friday, has focused connected talks connected security, commerce, education, agriculture and the combat against drug trafficking, the Colombian authorities said.

Petro announced the opening of a Colombian embassy successful the country’s superior of Port-au-Prince.

He has besides pledged to assistance Haiti fortify its security, offering to bid Haitian officers. Haitian delegations person visited a state-owned arms manufacturing institution successful Colombia to larn astir its defence capabilities.

The Colombian authorities shared a little clip of Petro speaking astatine the caller embassy: “The clip has travel to genuinely unite.”

Por fin, tenemos embajada en Haití.

¿Qué fuerzas impedían en la cancillería que hubiera una embajada en el país desde donde salió nuestra independencia?

¿Sería porque nuestra libertad salió fue de los esclavos negros que se liberaron a sí mismos? pic.twitter.com/tpdpmBptCz

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) July 19, 2025

Translation: Finally, we person an embassy successful Haiti. What forces successful the Foreign Ministry were preventing the constitution of an embassy successful the state from which our independency originated? Could it beryllium due to the fact that our state came from the Black slaves who liberated themselves?

Petro landed successful Port-au-Prince, wherever 90 percent of the superior is nether pack control. He was accompanied by officials, including Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez.

During his visit, Petro met with Haiti’s Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime and its transitional statesmanlike council, which is nether unit to clasp wide elections earlier February 2026.

The officials arrived little than a week aft Haitian authorities killed 4 suspected cause traffickers and confiscated much than 1,000kg (2,300lb) of cocaine disconnected the country’s northbound coast.

The seizure was unexpectedly ample for Haiti’s National Police, which remains understaffed and underfunded arsenic it works with Kenyan constabulary starring a United Nations-backed ngo to assistance quell pack violence.

While astir of the violence is centred successful Port-au-Prince, gangs person razed and seized power of a increasing fig of towns successful Haiti’s cardinal region.

At slightest 4,864 radical person been killed from October to the extremity of June crossed Haiti, with hundreds of others kidnapped, raped and trafficked, according to a caller UN report.

Gang unit has besides displaced 1.3 cardinal radical successful caller years.

Petro antecedently visited Haiti successful precocious January. Before his visit, Haitian officials invested immoderate $3.8m to much than treble the runway astatine the airdrome successful the metropolis of Jacmel, renovate the municipality and reconstruct energy to a colonisation surviving successful the acheronian for astatine slightest 3 years.

The 2 countries are additionally strengthening their ties arsenic judges successful Haiti proceed to interrogate 17 erstwhile Colombian soldiers accused successful the July 2021 sidesplitting of President Jovenel Moise.