US President Joe Biden's administration will grant Haiti nearly $110 million in security aid and police assistance, an official of the US State Department said, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
It's a step that circumvents a months-long hold on the funds by Republican lawmakers.
The official said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made the decision after conducting more than 100 briefings with Congress, and that the Biden administration remains committed to working in "close cooperation" with this authority.
"The security situation in Haiti remains intolerable due to brutal gang violence, and the Haitian people cannot wait," the official said.
The funds include $95 million for the security mission and $15 million for the Haitian National Police to combat gang violence.
"The Biden administration's choice to overturn the withholding of US taxpayer funding for the ill-conceived MMPS (Multinational Security Support Mission) is extremely disappointing,'' said Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the House committee. foreign affairs of the Senate.
Risch and Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in March that they had "imposed" of funds to Haiti because they need "a lot more details" before approving them.
The State Department said at the time that it was engaging with Congress to get approval for the funds, which are believed to be essential to deploying Kenyan police to the Caribbean nation, where gangs have disrupted food supplies and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee. their homes.