2026-02-18

The OAS Permanent Council convened at 09:30 EST today to receive the Secretary General's progress report on developments in Haiti's political situation. Full outcomes were not published by report compilation time. The OAS General Secretariat's baseline position issued February 8 recognized PM Fils-Aime and the cabinet as conducting a short, purposeful, and clearly directed interim period focused on security improvement and electoral calendar advancement. The Secretariat identified timely GSF deployment as critical and reiterated the primacy of a Haitian-led, Haitian-owned approach with regular, structured national consultation and dialogue. On security force development, the first tactical training course for the PNH was launched under the OAS Haiti mission with Canadian government funding through the H-TAC project at Cap-Haitian. The program focuses on precision operations, confined space tactics, and hostage February 18, 2026 rescue using a train-the-trainer model designed for institutional sustainability. The Morne-Casse anti-gang training center in the Northeast, visited by PNH Acting Chief Paraison on February 10, has capacity for 200 officers per cycle with classrooms, dormitories, a 100-meter shooting range, and tactical courses. Instructor training is scheduled to begin by end of February 2026. The facility is energy self-sufficient and part of a planned national network of at least four additional training centers. Canada continues multi-track engagement: 10 armored vehicles delivered via UNOPS on February 16, funding of the OAS tactical training program, and training of CARICOM troops via Operation HELIOS through the 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Regiment. Canada's total commitment stands at 123 million USD, including 80.5 million for the UN trust fund supporting MSS and GSF operations. The GSF timeline remains unchanged with first contingents targeted for April 2026, full deployment by October 2026, and an authorized ceiling of 5,550 personnel. The MSS currently operates with approximately 1,000 Kenya-led personnel as the drawdown continues. At the institutional level, the Ministry of National Education announced that ANESRS -- established by decree in December 2025 and installed by the CPT on January 14, 2026 -- formally assumes jurisdiction over all higher education matters effective February 27. The transfer is contested by the Council of the State University of Haiti, which has formally denounced the agency's creation as an illegitimate CPT-era imposition. Petion-Ville's new municipal commission was officially installed with Kesner Normil as president and Amazan Staco and Marie Geralda Nelson as deputy mayors.