New contingent of Kenyan police joins UN-backed mission to fight gangs in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A fourth contingent of Kenyan police arrived Thursday in Haiti to help repel violent gangs as officials brushed off concerns over a halt in some U.S. funding to the U.N.-backed mission.

The 200 police officers from the East African country join more than 600 other Kenyans already working alongside Haiti’s National Police as part of a multinational force boosted by soldiers and police deployed by countries including Jamaica, Guatemala and El Salvador.

“We are reaching close to our full strength so the mission can start giving results,” Godfrey Otunge, the mission’s force commander, said as he greeted the new officers at Haiti's main international airport, which remains closed to commercial flights because of ongoing gang violence.

The latest deployment of Kenyan police comes two days after the U.S. notified the United Nations that it was freezing $13.3 million slated for the mission as part of a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Otunge said in a statement Wednesday that the amount frozen represents less than 3% of ongoing assistance to the mission.

“I want to assure everyone, especially the people of Haiti, that the mission remains on track,” he said.

He noted that the U.S. and other partner countries are still providing logistical, financial and equipment support, with support flights arriving almost daily.

“Both the Department of Defense and the Department of State remain actively engaged in (the mission’s) operations,” Otunge stated.

The U.S. State Department said it approved waivers for $40.7 million in foreign assistance to help the mission and Haitian police, including contracts to support forward operating bases, medical services and vehicle maintenance.

It noted that as recently as Tuesday, the U.S. delivered “much-needed heavy armored equipment” to the mission and Haitian police.

“The Haitian people need security,” said Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as he pointed to a plane on the tarmac. "This is all the equipment that we promised is coming in.”

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader warned Thursday during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Haiti represents a threat to the entire region, including the United States.

“There’s no time to lose,” he said as he called for more financial support for the mission. “Haiti is drowning.”

Abinader also called for more humanitarian aid to the violence-wracked country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, saying it would help relieve the ongoing crisis and halt a wave of migration that would affect the U.S. and other countries.

“There is no Dominican solution to the Haitian crisis,” he said. “The leadership of the United States is essential and irreplaceable.”

Rubio said the U.S. is committed to supporting the U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police and called for it to be broadened so it could effectively deal with gangs.

He said the issue of Haiti cannot be ignored.

“It’s a tragedy, it’s horrifying, and it needs to be dealt with. … We are going to help,” he said.

Rubio added, however: "I want to be clear; the future of Haiti belongs to the people of Haiti.”

William O'Neill, U.N. designated expert on Haiti, said Thursday that the mission plays a crucial role in helping local officers establish security.

“The Haitian National Police are outnumbered and outgunned by the gangs,” he said. “Steady and predictable funding for the (mission) requires all states to contribute, especially those in the region. More stability in Haiti will reduce the pressure to migrate, which is in everyone’s interest.”

Earlier, Rubio spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto to thank him for his country's leadership of the mission in Haiti, which remains fully operational, and Kenya’s role in promoting peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The mission, which began last year, is struggling with a lack of funding and personnel as gangs that control 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, keep seizing more territory.

An ongoing, weeklong attack in an upscale community near the capital has killed some 150 people, Marie Yolène Gilles of the nonprofit Fondasyon Je Klere told Magik9 radio station on Wednesday.

She said more than 100 homes also were set on fire.

The attack on Kenscoff that began Jan. 27 has left more than 1,660 people homeless, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

U.N backed Salvador police force unloads a helicopter carrying material for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission after the arrival of a Kenyan police contingent, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council President Leslie Voltaire speaks during a welcoming ceremony after Kenyan police, who are part of a UN-backed multinational force, arrived at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenyan police, who are part of a UN-backed multinational force, pray on the tarmac after landing at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, center left, speaks with U.S. Ambassador Dennis B. Hankins, as they wait for the arrival of a Kenyan police contingent, part of a U.N.-backed multinational force, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenyan police, who are part of a UN-backed multinational force, sing and dance on the tarmac after landing at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, left, greets a member of the U.N.-backed Kenya police force at Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenyan police, who are part of a UN-backed multinational force, sing and dance on the tarmac after landing at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Members of the Kenyan police, who are part of a UN-backed multinational force, pose for a photo on the tarmac at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)