Haiti sends 400 police officers to Brazil for training as gangs occupy more territory
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (AP) – The Haitian government said on Monday it plans to send 400 police officers to Brazil for training next month as gang violence floods the beleaguered Caribbean nation.
Currently, Haiti has only about 10,000 police officers and 1,300 soldiers to protect a country with nearly 12 million people, Fritz Alfas Jean Jean, head of the Transitional Presidential Committee.
In the coming months, a total of 700 Haitian police and soldiers will be trained abroad, and then will join the Kenyan-led, unsupported mission to fight the gang.
“Haiti is weak and we need special training,” Jean said at a rare press conference in international media.
Last week, 150 Haitian soldiers were deployed to Mexico for training, as the gang, which controls up to 90% of the capital ports and encroaches on more territory.
From October 2024 to June 2025, more than 4,800 people were violently killed by gangs across Haiti. According to the United Nations, hundreds of people were injured, kidnapped, raped and trafficked.
Gang violence has also been displaced in recent years, with more than 1.3 million people pointing out that the government is trying to ensure that Haitians can return home as soon as possible. The government has begun allocating funds to thousands of people who have squeezed into schools and temporary shelters.
Jean leads a parliament responsible for organizing the election by February 2026, but ongoing gang violence threatens that deadline.
“We are doing everything we can so that we can hold elections,” he said.
Haiti has not held a general election in nearly a decade, and its last president, Jovenel Moïse, was killed in July 2021 at his private residence. The gang violence occurred after the killing.
