GSF Holds High-Level Meeting With Haiti Ministry of Defense; Security Forces Seize Weapons and Ammunition; Zed Airlines Opens Miami–Cap-Haïtien Route

HaitiLibre's May 23, 2026 Zapping roundup reported three significant developments. First, a high-level strategic coordination meeting was held between Gang Suppression Force (GSF) leadership and Haiti's Ministry of Defense, reflecting growing institutional integration between the international mission and Haitian national security structures. The meeting comes as the GSF's ~800-person advance force (400+ Chadian, 75 Guatemalan, 70 Salvadoran) enters its second full month of operations under Mongolian Maj. Gen. Erdenebat Batsuuri — who assumed command on May 14 — with the force exclusively concentrated in Port-au-Prince city center and far below its authorized 5,500-person ceiling. Second, Haitian National Police (HNP) and security forces conducted operations resulting in the seizure of weapons and ammunition, consistent with ongoing enforcement efforts targeting gang supply chains fueling the ongoing Cité Soleil and Cul-de-Sac violence wave. Specific quantities and operational details were not disclosed for security reasons. Third, Zed Airlines announced the inauguration of a new Miami-to-Cap-Haïtien direct flight route — the first new international air connection to Cap-Haïtien in recent years, representing a rare positive economic development for Haiti's second-largest city. Cap-Haïtien remains outside the active conflict zone concentrated in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite, though the GSF's geographic concentration in the capital leaves the northern city without international security coverage if violence expands further.