The U.S. Can’t Ignore Haiti’s New Crisis
Outsiders won’t solve the country’s problems, but they can make a difference.
Who wanted Jovenel Moise and his wife dead?
Photographer: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
The assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise has plunged the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country even deeper into chaos. As its richest and most powerful neighbor, the U.S. should lead outside efforts to help — while being under no illusions about the limits of what’s possible.
Haiti’s dysfunction has long resisted outsiders’ efforts. The U.S. has provided more than $5 billion since 2010, making its neighbor the hemisphere’s largest per capita recipient of U.S. aid. Yet for years Haiti has moved from crisis to crisis, defying hopes of lasting improvement. Money has been spent, American troops have been deployed, and still the Haitian people have suffered. The president’s murder now threatens a renewed descent into lawlessness.