John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), has shown against the establishment of an army in Haiti, an army that President Moïse wishes to relaunch after the departure of the UN soldiers.

"What they need is national police, probably a sub-unit within the national police border guards [...] An army is a lot of money for a country like Haiti [...] An Army that doesn’t always have a mission is the 'Devil’s Workshop' with a lot of time on its hands [...]I think what money he does have he should focus on the national police. Make them better, more professional," John Kelly made these statements during an interview with the Florida newspaper Miami Herald, following his visit to Haiti on Wednesday https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21092-haiti-flash-visit-of-secretary-of-homeland-security-john-kelly.html and his meeting with President Jovenel Moïse https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21101-haiti-flash-kelly-suggests-that-the-usa-work-with-haiti.html the same day.

The position of Jovenel Moïse on the creation of an army is that The Armed Forces of Haiti is a constitutional prerogative [...] A country is not master of itself if it does not have an Armed Force [...] the strength of a country is based on a defense system that is strong, a modern army that is based on the objective of ensuring the protection of the country" and subsequently on the Voice of America he had declared "[...] The Army of Haiti has so far figured in the Constitution. Do not be afraid to say so. Haiti has its essence in the army [...]"

Also in January 2017, the former American Ambassador accredited to Haiti and the Special Coordinator of Haiti to the State Department Kenneth Merten, who spoke at an interview on the Voice of America had declared that this will to provide Haiti with an army will not be supported, particularly by Uncle Sam, while acknowledging that the creation of an army remains a strictly Haitian affair, he wanted to clarify "We have always supported a civilian police to ensure the security of Haiti. We've spent a lot of money to have a professional police [...] It's hard to imagine that the United States are ready to make a financial contribution to an armed force. The taxpayers, the State Department and the White House would not welcome that."

HL/ HaitiLibre