|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Haiti has long been a country grappling with instability, corruption, and foreign interference. Now, in a desperate attempt to combat spiraling gang violence, the Haitian transitional government has turned to Erik Prince, founder of the infamous private military company Blackwater, and his latest venture, Vectus Global. The 10-year deal Prince struck with Haiti may sound like a lifeline, but history and reality suggest otherwise. Rather than securing stability, it risks trapping Haiti in yet another cycle of exploitation, dependency, and violence.
@iamcheyna READ FULL ARTICLE ON OPAMUSIC.COM: Erik Prince in Haiti: Why Turning to Mercenaries is a Dangerous Gamble Haiti has long been a country grappling with instability, corruption, and foreign interference. Now, in a desperate attempt to combat spiraling gang violence, the Haitian transitional government has turned to Erik Prince, founder of the infamous private military company Blackwater, and his latest venture, Vectus Global. The 10-year deal Prince struck with Haiti may sound like a lifeline, but history and reality suggest otherwise. Rather than securing stability, it risks trapping Haiti in yet another cycle of exploitation, dependency, and violence. #Haiti #erikprince #fyp #viral #haitiantiktok
For those who may not recall, Erik Prince’s reputation was cemented in Iraq in 2007 when Blackwater contractors massacred 17 civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad. That incident and dozens of other abuses showed what happens when private soldiers operate in foreign countries with little to no accountability. Instead of facing real consequences, Prince quietly rebranded and reemerged, launching new companies under different names. Now, with Vectus Global, he is presenting himself as the solution to Haiti’s chaos. But the pattern is clear: profit first, accountability last.
The deal with Haiti gives Vectus Global sweeping powers. Prince is not just providing armed guards. His company is reportedly taking over key state functions, including rebuilding infrastructure, restoring tax collection, patrolling seas and skies with boats, helicopters, drones, and even deploying snipers. In other words, a private foreign company is being contracted to perform roles that should belong to a sovereign government. That creates a dangerous precedent.
If a Haitian government cannot collect its own taxes without the help of a foreign mercenary, how much sovereignty does it really have? If armed men from abroad can decide when and how to use deadly force in Haitian neighborhoods, who holds them accountable? Haiti risks becoming a client state run by contractors who answer to Erik Prince, not to Haitian law.
Prince’s record is filled with examples of blurred lines and deadly consequences. Blackwater operated in legal gray zones, shielded by contracts and loopholes. Victims of abuse found it nearly impossible to get justice. Even the U.S. government eventually cut ties with Blackwater because of its notoriety.
In Haiti, this accountability gap will be even wider. Fragile courts, weak oversight institutions, and a transitional government struggling for legitimacy mean that Vectus Global could operate with near-total impunity. Drone strikes, street raids, and targeted killings could all be carried out in the name of “security” with little recourse for victims.
Exploiting a Desperate Nation
Prince has mastered the art of pitching his services to countries in crisis. He sold his ideas to Afghanistan, pitched them to African governments, and most recently secured deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru. Haiti, plagued by gang rule and political breakdown, became the perfect candidate. Prince can present himself as the savior while extracting lucrative contracts that funnel millions into his enterprise.
This is not about building Haiti. It is about building Prince’s new empire of privatized security. Just as with Blackwater, the end result will likely be a trail of violence and mistrust, while Haitians are left no closer to real stability.
Haiti has a long history of outside powers imposing “solutions” that left the country weaker in the long run. From U.S. occupations to international missions like MINUSTAH, foreign interventions have often deepened distrust between Haitians and their own institutions. Vectus Global is another chapter in that story, except now, instead of a foreign government or the United Nations, it is a private mercenary with shareholders and profit margins calling the shots.
The message it sends is troubling. It tells the world that Haiti cannot govern itself, that only a private army from abroad can fix its problems. That narrative undermines Haitian sovereignty, diminishes faith in public institutions, and risks making Haiti permanently dependent on external actors.
Haiti does need urgent help to break free from the chokehold of gangs and criminal networks. But turning to Erik Prince is not the answer. His record shows a trail of blood and controversy, not sustainable solutions. What Haiti needs is investment in its institutions, support for rebuilding legitimate governance, and strategies that empower its people, not mercenary armies with histories of abuse.
If history teaches us anything, it is that Erik Prince profits when fragile nations are desperate. Haiti deserves better than to become his next experiment in privatized warfare.
Erik Prince nan Ayiti, Poukisa Mete Tèt Nou Nan Men Mèsenè Se Yon Move Pari
Ayiti depi lontan ap lite ak enstabilite, koripsyon, ak entèferans etranje. Kounye a, nan yon eseye dezespere pou konbat vyolans gang yo, gouvènman tranzisyon an fè apèl ak Erik Prince, fondatè konpayi militè prive ki gen move repitasyon, Blackwater, ak nouvo biznis li a ki rele Vectus Global. Akò 10 ane Prince siyen ak Ayiti ka parèt tankou yon solisyon, men listwa ak reyalite montre se yon danje. Olye li pote estabilite, li ka plonje Ayiti nan yon lòt sik eksplwatasyon, depandans, ak vyolans.
Pou moun ki pa sonje, repitasyon Erik Prince te vin make nan Irak an 2007, lè kontraktè Blackwater yo te touye 17 sivil nan kare Nisour, Bagdad. Zak sa a ansanm ak lòt abi te montre kisa ki rive lè sòlda prive ap opere nan peyi etranje san okenn kontwòl. Olye l te sibi konsekans grav, Prince te chanje non biznis li epi relanse yo anba lòt etikèt. Kounye a, ak Vectus Global, li prezante tèt li kòm solisyon pou dezòd Ayiti. Men modèl la klè, pwofi an premye, kontablite dènye.
Akò Ayiti siyen an bay Vectus Global pouvwa twòp. Prince pa sèlman ap voye gadyen ame, konpayi li a ap pran wòl Leta ta dwe genyen, tankou rebati enfrastrikti, rekòlte taks, fè patwouy sou lanmè ak nan syèl ak bato, elikoptè, dron, e menm plase tirè. Sa vle di, yon konpayi prive etranje ap vin pran kontwòl fonksyon ki ta dwe nan men yon gouvènman souvren. Se yon danje pou lavni peyi a.
Si yon gouvènman ayisyen pa ka rekòlte taks san èd yon mèsenè etranje, ki kantite souverènte li genyen? Si sòlda ki soti lòt bò dlo ka deside ki lè ak kijan pou yo sèvi ak fòs nan katye Ayiti, kiyès ki responsab pou kontwole yo? Ayiti riske tounen yon peyi kliyan ki dirije pa kontraktè ki sèlman reponn devan Erik Prince, pa devan lalwa ayisyen.
Listwa Prince chaje ak egzanp abi ak konfizyon. Blackwater te opere nan zòn gri legal, kache dèyè kontra ak twou nan lalwa. Viktim yo te prèske enposib jwenn jistis. Menm gouvènman Ameriken te oblije koupe relasyon ak Blackwater akoz move repitasyon li.
Nan Ayiti, pwoblèm sa a ap vin pi grav toujou. Avèk lajistis fèb, enstitisyon kontwòl ki pa gen mwayen, ak yon gouvènman tranzisyon ki ap lite pou lejitimite, sa vle di Vectus Global ka opere san okenn kontwòl reyèl. Dron, operasyon ame nan lari, ak asasina vize ka fèt an non “sekirite” san okenn mwayen pou viktim yo jwenn jistis.
Eksplwatasyon Yon Pèp Dezespere
Prince gen abitid vann sèvis li bay peyi ki nan kriz. Li te vann ide li nan Afganistan, eseye nan Afrik, epi dènyèman siyen kontra nan Repiblik Demokratik Kongo ak Pewou. Ayiti, ki kwense anba men gang ak enstabilite politik, tounen kandida pafè pou l parèt kòm yon “sovè” pandan l ap fè milyon nan kontra.
Sa pa sou bati Ayiti, sa sou bati yon nouvo anpi sekirite prive pou Prince. Menm jan ak Blackwater, rezilta final la gen gwo chans se yon tras vyolans ak laperèz, pandan pèp ayisyen an rete san okenn estabilite dirab.
Ayiti gen yon listwa long kote etranje toujou ap vini ak “solisyon” ki souvan fè sitiyasyon an vin pi mal. Soti nan okipasyon ameriken rive nan misyon entènasyonal tankou MINUSTAH, entèvansyon sa yo plis kraze konfyans pèp la nan enstitisyon yo. Kounye a ak Vectus Global, se menm istwa a, sèlman fwa sa a se yon mèsenè prive ki gen pwofi nan tèt li ki gen kontwòl.
Mesaj sa voye a klè. Li di lemonn antye Ayiti pa ka dirije tèt li, sèlman yon lame prive ki soti lòt bò dlo ki ka rezoud pwoblèm li yo. Sa ap mine souverènte, kraze konfyans nan enstitisyon piblik, epi mete Ayiti nan yon depandans pèmanan sou etranje.
Ayiti bezwen èd ijan pou kraze chenn gang yo ak rezo kriminèl yo. Men Erik Prince pa repons lan. Listwa li montre san ak eskandal, pa solisyon dirab. Sa Ayiti bezwen se envestisman nan enstitisyon, sipò pou rebati gouvènans lejitim, ak estrateji ki bay pèp la pouvwa, pa lame prive ki gen move repitasyon abi.
Si listwa aprann nou yon bagay, se ke Erik Prince toujou pwofite sou dezespwa peyi ki frajil yo. Ayiti merite pi plis pase vin tounen pwochen eksperyans li nan lagè prive.
