Hundreds of fighters from the United States, Europe, and El Salvador are set to deploy to Haiti in the coming weeks under a 10-year deal between the country’s transitional government and Vectus Global, a private security firm founded by Erik Prince, a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.
According to Prince, Vectus, operating in Haiti since March, will work with local police to retake roads and areas held by heavily armed gangs.
Prince, a former Navy SEAL and founder of the now-defunct private military company Blackwater, told the news outlet he expects to restore control over the country’s roads and territories within a year. “One key measure of success for me will be when you can drive from Port-au-Prince to Cap Haitian in a thin-skinned vehicle and not be stopped by gangs,” he said in the interview.
Prince said the deal also grants Vectus a future role in collecting import taxes along the border with the Dominican Republic. Prince declined to say how much the Haitian government would pay Vectus Global or how much tax he expects to collect in Haiti.
Laurent Saint-Cyr, the new president of the transitional council who took office on August 7, did not comment on Prince’s statement. Haiti’s former council president and prime minister have also yet to comment.
When sought for comment, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters it has not hired Prince or his company for any work in Haiti. “The U.S. government has no involvement with the private military contractor hired by the Haitian government. We are not funding this contract or exercising any oversight,” a senior White House official said.
Haiti’s government has struggled to restore authority since a coordinated offensive by armed gangs in February 2024 paralysed much of Port-au-Prince and forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry to announce his resignation.
United Nations data shows that more than 1,500 people were killed between April and June 2025 amid ongoing violence.
