It’s hard to teach an empire new tricks. Once again, the U.S. Marines invade Haiti “for the umpteenth time” under the guise of humanitarian assistance.
A battalion of U.S. Marines from North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune left for Haiti on Wednesday, August 18 under the pretext of aiding the victims of the disasters that struck the departments of Sud, Nippes and Grand’Anse: a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Saturday, August 14, and heavy rains, winds, and floods from tropical storm Grace which swept through the country, particularly the Grand-Sud, on August 16 and 17, 2021.
The provisional death toll provided by the Civil Protection Agency currently stands at 2,189 and more than 12,000 people have been injured. According to the Agency, the earthquake destroyed more than 7,000 homes and damaged more than 12,000, leaving around 30,000 families homeless. Schools, offices and churches had also been demolished or severely damaged.
It is under this pretext that US marines will be deployed at the request of the US Agency for International Development and Task Force-Haiti. The Marines will join the international effort currently involving officials from the U.S. Embassy, other U.S. military services, and a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) deployed to Haiti on August 14.
“Once 420 sailors and around 200 Marines arrive, they will work together to bring aid to Haiti: clearing debris and reopening roads, search, rescue and evacuation of the wounded. We have a fleet surgical team on board that will be able to provide medical assistance,” said US Marine Corps Lt. Col. Cory Murtaugh.
Although the gringo marines do not need to make excuses to invade a country, in this case they used the pretext of being “nice” and “in solidarity” with the Haitian tragedy, and set foot in a countries which they have invaded several times and where they almost always control their leaders
According to one of the naval chiefs: “The troops could stay in Haiti for up to four months or more if necessary. The USS Arlington will be deployed with two MH-60 Seahawk helicopters, a surgical team and a landing craft. In addition, the United States is shipping the USNS Burlington Spearhead Class Expeditionary Fast Transport (T-EPF-10) which will also serve as a platform to launch drones for aerial surveillance, as well as two P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.”
In this way, the Haitian people who have suffered one misfortune after another, between bad rulers and the forces of nature in the face of so many aggressions, will now have to face the arrogance and the repressive desire of the army of the dominant imperialist power of the region accustomed to killing, rape, and torture.
Haiti Liberté rigorously denounces this umpteenth Yankee landing under humanitarian pretexts to defile once again the Haitian soil of Dessalines, Péralte and Batraville. The Haitian people must remain vigilant, mobilized. If our country is faced with daily earthquakes and storms from our governments, it is because the United States has always imposed local lackeys on us not only to excessively destabilize the country, but also to safeguard and defend their hegemonic interests.
No to the US Navy in Haiti!
No to American imperialist domination in Haiti!
Long live the revolutionary struggle of the Haitian people!
*Originally published in the French edition of the Haiti Liberté, the largest Haitian weekly tri-lingual newspaper.
Dr. Jemima Pierre is a professor in the African American Studies and Anthropology Departments at UCLA.
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