The Trump administration is ending Temporary Protected Status for roughly 350,000 Haitians in the United States, even as Haiti remains one of the most dangerous places in the world. Deportation flights are already sending people back by the hundreds, and their pace appears to be increasing.
So what happens when deportees arrive in a country where gangs control large swaths of territory and the state has lost its grip on basic security?
Diego Da Rin of the International Crisis Group joins me to explain what we know about these deportation flights, where people are being sent, and what happens to them after they land. From there, we turn to the much bigger picture: gangs are expanding their control, violence is spreading, and a new UN-backed Gang Suppression Force of 5,500 international troops is beginning to deploy. And this is all happening ahead of elections scheduled for the end of the year that may increase the levels of violence to even worse levels.
One of the key questions we discuss is whether this latest international intervention can actually change the trajectory of Haiti’s crisis — or whether the gangs will continue to gain ground.
Our conversation is freely available directly in Substack, with audio versions available in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
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