US believes it is “too early” to assess impact of Haiti quake on scheduled elections

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The United States considers it still “too early” in Haiti to assess the political impact of last Saturday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which has caused more than 1,900 deaths, 9,900 injured and innumerable material damages.

This was stated Tuesday (17) by Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor to US President Joe Biden, when asked about the possibility that the quake will change the US position on the need for the Caribbean nation to hold elections this year.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Haiti

“It’s too early to say what the impact is on the political process of the earthquake. We’re in the process of assessing that,” Sullivan said.

Haiti has been facing a political and social crisis for years, which worsened last July 7 with the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

In June, Haiti’s electoral authorities had announced the holding of a referendum to approve a new Constitution – a project promoted by Moïse – on September 26, on the same date as the presidential and legislative elections.

During his inauguration on July 20, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry promised to create the conditions to organize the elections, which he considered “non-negotiable”.

Sullivan pointed out that “there are no current plans to deploy US military personnel to Haiti” in response to a question on this subject. Instead, he highlighted the dispatch to Haiti of specialized groups from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the support of the U.S. Coast Guard.

On Tuesday, Washington announced the dispatch of eight helicopters and two additional ships to the country to reinforce rescue and assistance efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The US Navy indicated on its Twitter account that the Secretary of the Navy ordered the USS Arlington to respond in the “short term” to the emergency in Haiti, where its mission will be to support the effort to “save lives and alleviate the suffering of the Haitian people”.