2026-02-26

Haitian national police recaptured the Carrefour-Aeroport junction in central Port-au-Prince following a sustained offensive launched in December 2025, supported by a private security firm and Kenyan police officers from the UN-backed mission. The police substation burned by Viv Ansanm gang members in March 2024 was renovated and formally reopened on February 7. As of February 26, armored police vehicles and heavily armed officers patrol the area, and small businesses, street vendors, and tap-tap buses are returning to the junction. Romain Le Cour of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime described the recapture as probably one of the very first tangible messages that state forces can retake territory. The recovery is significant in symbolic terms but must be contextualized against the broader security map. Gangs still control approximately 90% of Port-au-Prince. Surrounding areas of Carrefour-Aeroport remain devastated, with charred homes in ruins, businesses and schools shuttered, and residents expressing fear that the peace is temporary. The PNH has conducted intensified operations since late December 2025, including kamikaze drone strikes against gang positions. On January 17, a drone strike demolished the residence of Jimmy Cherizier, known as February 26, 2026 Barbecue, head of the Viv Ansanm coalition. The Gang Suppression Force authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 2793 on September 30, 2025, is transitioning from the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission. Authorized strength stands at 5,550 personnel with pledges of up to 7,500 from Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Bangladesh. First arrivals are expected in April 2026 with full deployment targeted by October 2026. Kenya's Godfrey Otunge remains Acting Commander. The current Kenyan contingent stands at approximately 1,000 officers following the fifth rotation, which arrived in December 2025. The United States is providing no troops but is funding a substantial portion of mission costs plus $5 million in non-lethal assistance to the FAd'H, the first such assistance since the 1990s. Three US warships, the USS Stockdale guided-missile destroyer, the USCGC Stone, and the USCGC Diligence, were deployed to the Bay of Port-au-Prince on February 3 under Operation Southern Spear directed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The deployment coincided with the final days of the CPT and served simultaneously as a counter-narcotics operation and a political signal backing Fils-Aime's consolidation. The naval presence has since become a persistent feature of the security environment and signals sustained US commitment to the transition.