Haiti - Security : What the U.S. intelligence say about Haiti
In a report released late January entitled Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community - Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, ames R. Clapper, Director of the U.S. National Intelligence Agency, has devoted a few lines about the situation in Haiti :
"Stability in Haiti will ramain fragile due to extreme poverty and weak governing institutions. Meaningful long-term reconstruction and development in Haili will need to continue for many years. Haiti remains vulnerable to setbacks in its reconstruction and development goals due to the possibility of natural disasters. Food insecurity, although improving, also has the potential to be a destabilizing factor. Periods of political gridlock have resulted due to distrust between President Michel Martelly, in office since May 2011, and opponents in Parliament. Martelly is generally still popular, but politically organized protests, possibly violent, might occur before the elections, scheduled for 2014.
During the next decade, Haiti will remain highly dependent on assistance from the international community for security, in particular during elections. Donor fatigue among contributors to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), however, will likely lead to reductions in force, evident by the 2013 mandate which calls for consolidating and downsizing forces. Although the Haitian National Police is making progress on its plans to increase force size from 10,000 in 2011 to 15,000 by 2016, the larger force will probably still need support from MINUSTAH to provide for its own security. "
