{"id":238075,"date":"2025-06-30T07:21:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T11:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/?p=238075"},"modified":"2025-06-30T09:38:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T13:38:13","slug":"pedro-banos-haiti-needs-a-strong-government-not-foreign-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/2025\/06\/30\/pedro-banos-haiti-needs-a-strong-government-not-foreign-troops\/","title":{"rendered":"Pedro Ba\u00f1os: Haiti needs a strong government, not foreign troops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In a frank interview with List\u00edn Diario, Spanish colonel and geopolitical analyst Pedro Ba\u00f1os weighed in on the deepening crisis in Haiti, the role of foreign intervention, and the global balance of power, including US foreign policy, the Middle East conflict, and the influence of global powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 25 June 2024, the first convoy of an international security force arrived in Haiti with one goal: to restore public order \u2014 at any cost. A year later, the Multinational Security Support Mission, led by Kenya and backed by the United Nations, has failed to stabilize the country, says Ba\u00f1os.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is very difficult to stabilize a country with foreign forces. Stabilization must come from within \u2014 with external assistance, yes \u2014 but from within,\u201d said Ba\u00f1os, 64, during the Desayuno de List\u00edn Diario interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the retired Spanish colonel, what Haiti urgently needs is not more international boots on the ground, but “a strong, responsible government” that can impose authority with firmness across its territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ba\u00f1os, an expert in armed conflict, terrorism, and global security, warned that Haiti\u2019s criminal gangs have reached levels of brutality comparable to those of the Islamic State (ISIS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no other way to eliminate these criminal groups, which are committing absolute savagery,\u201d he said. \u201cThe information I receive from contacts in the Dominican Republic is hair-raising \u2014 even for Islamic State fighters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ba\u00f1os didn\u2019t hold back in criticizing the effectiveness of international peacekeeping efforts, claiming they often lack proper structure, motivation, or legal authority \u2014 and in some cases, become entangled in corruption or abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany of these forces become ineffective \u2014 or worse, embroiled in scandal,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of deploying more troops, Ba\u00f1os urged the United Nations to focus on helping build a functioning government in Haiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe UN should prioritize creating a strong, stable government that can act with severity and firm leadership in a country that is currently completely broken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also emphasized that Haiti\u2019s crisis isn\u2019t just a domestic matter \u2014 it poses a direct threat to the Dominican Republic due to increased migration, border insecurity, and pressure on public services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe greater the instability in Haiti, the more it affects the Dominican Republic \u2014 particularly in terms of security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UN-backed mission, made up of troops from Kenya, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Guatemala, and El Salvador, has so far struggled to restore order. According to The New York Times, the mission’s mandate expires in October, and its funding is set to run out in September. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has yet to confirm whether it will continue financing the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support for Abinader\u2019s border policies
Asked about President Luis Abinader\u2019s tougher stance on immigration, Ba\u00f1os didn\u2019t hesitate to voice his approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI completely agree with those measures,\u201d he said, adding that immigration policy should be treated as a long-term state strategy, free from ideological or partisan agendas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis must be addressed strategically, in a way that benefits both those arriving and those already living here,\u201d he said, referring to the daily crossings of Haitian migrants into the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abinader\u2019s government has increased deportations, implemented public hospital protocols, conducted raids, and started extending the border wall by 13 kilometers \u2014 with the second phase already underway. The border wall has been mostly effective reducing the robbery of cattle in border provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against mercenaries in Haiti
Ba\u00f1os also strongly opposed the idea of deploying mercenaries or private military contractors in Haiti \u2014 a country plunged into crisis after the assassination of President Jovenel Mo\u00efse in July 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t support mercenaries. I prefer regular armed forces,\u201d he said. \u201cThese contractors operate outside the framework of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva and Hague conventions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ba\u00f1os, who has written extensively on private military companies, warned of their legal and ethical risks. He emphasized that these groups are often used by major powers in a legal gray zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no international law that regulates them \u2014 only the Montreal agreements,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also pointed to past failures, such as the documented abuses committed by private contractors in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The New York Times, the Haitian government has in recent months turned to American contractors \u2014 including Erik Prince, a close Trump ally \u2014 as part of a secret drone operation targeting gang members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colonel Ba\u00f1os visited the Dominican Republic at the invitation of the Fundaci\u00f3n El Dem\u00f3crata to promote discussions on geopolitics, disinformation, and the impact of fake news in the region. His visit includes the launch of his new book, Geohispanidad: La Potencia Hispana en el Nuevo Orden Geopol\u00edtico, a project that took two years to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more:
Listin Diario <\/a>
Hoy <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DR1 News<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

30 June 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a frank interview with List\u00edn Diario, Spanish colonel and geopolitical analyst Pedro Ba\u00f1os weighed in on the deepening crisis in Haiti, the role of foreign intervention, and the global balance of power, including US foreign policy, the Middle East conflict, and the influence of global powers. On 25 June 2024, the first convoy of … <\/p>\n

Read more\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[337,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238075"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238075"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238116,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238075\/revisions\/238116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}