UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.S. has notified the United Nations that it is freezing funding to a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti tasked with fighting gangs trying to seize full control of the country's capital, the U.N. said Tuesday.
US has frozen funding for the UN-backed mission to quell gangs in Haiti, UN says
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.S. has notified the United Nations that it is freezing funding to a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti tasked with fighting gangs trying to seize full control of the country's capital, the U.N. said Tuesday.
The U.S. has been the biggest contributor to the mission led by Kenyan police, which was launched last year and is struggling with a lack of funding and personnel. The halt will have an "immediate impact" on the mission, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The United States had committed $15 million to the trust fund that finances the multinational force, he said. With $1.7 million of that already spent, "$13.3 million is now frozen," Dujarric said.
The move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump imposes a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance, leading to thousands of U.S. aid agency employees and contractors being laid off and programs worldwide shut down.