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A contingent of security forces from Guatemala holds a Guatemala flag as they arrive in Haiti for a security mission, at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-Au-Prince Haiti January 4, 2025.
Guatemalan troops arrive in Haiti to combat gang violence
A total of150 Guatemalan soldiers landed in Haiti on Friday and Saturday to join a United Nations-backed mission led by Kenya aimed at curbing rampant gang violence.
The troops, drawn from Guatemala’s military police, were welcomed ata ceremony Friday at Port-au-Prince’s international airport by Haitian leaders, including Transitional Presidential Council head Leslie Voltaire and Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. US Ambassador Dennis Hankins also attended.
The 400 Kenyan police officers leading the mission have struggled to restore order in Haiti, where armed gangs control much of the capital. Despite international efforts, violence has escalated, with gangs storming prisons, targeting diplomatic vehicles, and conducting murderous rampages such as thevoodoo-fueled massacre of nearly 200 people in the capital last month.
In a statement, Normil Rameau, the acting director general of the National Police, said a “marriage” of the police with the people of Haiti remains “the most effective way to facilitate the total restoration of security and the establishment of lasting peace.” We’re watching whether this latest military contingent can help cement that union in the war-torn country.
Ukrainian Armed Forces are deployed in the middle of the conflict with Russia on December 16, 2024. Ukraine claims that Russia has begun sending North Korean soldiers en masse to assaults in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces repel daily Russian attacks and control important areas.
North Korea preparing to send more troops to Russia as casualties rise, says Seoul
South Korean military officials said Monday that they had detected North Korean preparations to deploy more troops and weapons to Russia, and elaborated that at least 100 of Pyongyang’s soldiers had been killed and 1,000 more wounded so far, while Ukrainians claim 200 have died and nearly 3,000 had been wounded. If Seoul’s estimates are accurate, that would mean approximately one out of every ten troops dispatched since late October has already taken a wound or died.
The high casualty figures may stem from lack of battlefield experience and modern equipment, as North Korean units embedded with Russian peers attempt to push Ukrainians out of the Kursk region. It isn’t dampening Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un’s enthusiasm for cooperating with Russia, however, with the South Korean military claiming he has developed new suicide drones to send to the battlefront. US intelligence agencies said Monday that they believe North Korea offered Russia its troops, rather than the request originating in Moscow, in expectation of help with defense technology and political backing on the world stage.
Watch out for a nasty New Year’s gift, too. Seoul says Pyongyang may attempt to test a hypersonic missile in late December or early January. Just ahead of a presidential transition in the US, and with chaos in South Korean politics caused by impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law on Dec. 3, don’t hold your breath for a strong response.