Biden says US is doing 'all we can' to help Haiti without sending troops

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden pushed off criticism that he was dragging in Kenya to take on the Haitian gang crisis saying the U.S. wanted to do "all we can" without looking like America is calling all the shots on the neighboring island.

Haiti is in an area of the Caribbean Sea that is "very volatile," and the U.S. does not want to come off as heavy handed, Biden said at a news conference on Thursday alongside Kenya's president after a journalist accused him of "committing" the African nation to a foreign conflict.

Plans have been in the works since October for Kenya to lead a U.N.-backed, multi-national police force to fight powerful gangs who control large parts of the Haiti's capital and the surrounding region.

The Biden administration has said it will not send U.S. troops to help Haitian authorities tackle the deepening crisis.

"There's a lot going on in this hemisphere, and we're in a situation where we want to do all we can without us looking like America once again is stepping over, deciding this is what must be done," Biden said. "Haitians are looking for help as well as the folks in the Caribbean are looking for help. And so, we checked out with a number of other countries."

Kenya answered the call, Biden indicated.

He appeared to mistakenly refer to the nation as Haiti as he told a journalist from Kenya: "We committed to provide the wherewithal, the intelligence and equipment and the like to Haiti, and so it's a logical thing. And you have a first-rate capability, and you keep your word. That's an important dynamic," he said.

After clearing a series of hurdles, Kenya said it would send 1,000 police officers. They still have not arrived.

Kenyan President William Ruto said Thursday at the news conference with Biden in Washington that his country was leading the mission, which has significant financial backing from the U.S., through its own structure and with the support of its parliament.

"We don't find that the U.S. is committing Kenya, because the U.S. cannot commit Kenya," Ruto said. "I am the president of Kenya. It's me to make that decision."

Kenya has been involved in peacekeeping over the last 40 years in 47 countries, including "very difficult neighborhoods" like what it will experience in Haiti, he said at another point.

Ruto said that Kenya believes "that the responsibility of peace and security anywhere in the world, including in Haiti, is the collective responsibility of all nations and all peoples" who believe in freedom, democracy and justice.

The visiting leader thanked the U.S. for stepping in with humanitarian support. "The rest of us are committing troops, we are... deploying our infrastructure," he said.

Biden's approach to Haiti has been under a microscope this week. Ahead of the Kenyan prime minister's visit to Washington, Republicans opposed to the intervention chastised the Biden administration in a letter. And at a hearing this week, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, confronted Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the topic.

Blinken warned on Tuesday, "Haiti is on the precipice of becoming an all-out failed state."

While he said he understands "some of the skepticism that exists about another mission in Haiti," the Biden official said the U.S. sees positive signs, including the formation of a Transitional Presidential Council and a related effort to establish a clear pathway to elections.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden says US doing 'all we can' to help Haiti without overstepping