UN envoy outlines what Haiti still needs to change course

NEW YORK — One year after Dominican President Luis Abinader called at the United Nations for a more forceful response to Haiti's crisis, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Haiti and head of BINUH, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, acknowledged progress but warned much remains to be done, in an exclusive interview with the Dominican newspaper HOY published Sept. 23, 2026.

Ruiz Massieu said the Security Council's approval and initial deployment of the Gang Suppression Force marked important advances, adding that although it is not yet fully deployed, it has begun operating and achieved concrete results in some areas of the capital. He credited regional leadership, including Abinader's, for helping establish the force. He attributed the incomplete deployment to challenges in the speed of deploying troops and equipment, and said full deployment is expected by late 2026 or early 2027.

The envoy said security remains the priority, noting the force's mandate ends at the end of September and urging the Security Council to renew it. He said real progress within a year would require sustained security results, recovery of key roads and territories, restored state presence, and an electoral process returning Haiti to democratic order.

Separately, El Día reported Sept. 22 that the Dominican Republic and Haiti agreed to hold a new bilateral meeting in early October with working tables on trade, security and migration, according to Dominican Foreign Minister Víctor 'Ito' Bisonó.