Carnegie Report Urges U.S. to Shift From Security Deployments to Rebuilding Haitian State Capacity

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published a report on July 9, 2026, by Christopher Shell of its American Statecraft Program, arguing that the United States should recalibrate its policy toward Haiti by moving beyond support for foreign security forces and toward rebuilding Haitian state capacity. According to the report, the arrival of the Gang Suppression Force in April 2026 marked the second iteration of a recent stabilization campaign, following the Kenyan-led, UN-backed Multinational Security Support Mission. Both forces have received significant U.S. financial and material support, yet the paper states a clear path to baseline stability remains distant. The report says Haiti's crisis has displaced more than one million people and pushed the state toward the brink of collapse. Located roughly 700 nautical miles from Florida, instability in Haiti carries implications for transnational criminal flows, irregular migration and regional security, the author writes. Drawing on field research in Haiti in November 2025 that included interviews with more than a dozen civil society members, security personnel and government officials, Shell recommends bolstering border and maritime enforcement to interdict U.S.-sourced weapons, developing Haitian police and military forces, and using financial tools against corrupt elites, many of whom reportedly reside in the United States. The analysis reflects a single institution's views and remains a developing policy discussion.