©️VEJA-Assine Abril
Port-au-Prince, August 20, 2025.- Invited to the Magik Panel of Magik9, this Wednesday, August 20, the former OAS Special Representative in Haiti, Ricardo Seitenfus, strongly criticized the road map proposed by the Organization of American States for the country. He accuses the institution of having already played a harmful role in the 2010 elections and warns against projects which he considers unrealistic and motivated by the search for funding.
« The OAS is not at the origin of all the misfortunes in Haiti, but it is not alien to the rigging of the 2010 elections or to the exile attempts of President René Préval », launched Ricardo Seitenfus. According to him, the regional organisation, supposed to be a space for political and diplomatic negotiations, « is not intended to manage problems for which she has no expertise ».
Seitenfus believes that Washington is primarily seeking to reduce its costs in Haiti. « The US supports 90% of security operations in the country, and Trump wants to avoid that at any cost », he explained. For him, the passage through the OAS would allow the Americans to disengage directly while keeping indirect control on the Haitian issue.
The academic pointed to the true motivations of the OAS. « I felt that what she's looking for is one billion three hundred million dollars, fourteen years of her annual budget. », he revealed. Recalling that the organization had only $93 million in operating costs per year, he said that the projects announced could only be carried out by subcontracting the expertise due to a lack of in-house expertise.
A call for national vigilance
« Haiti often needs to be saved from its saviors »warned Ricardo Seitenfus, calling on citizens to be vigilant in the face of promises « strenuous and mirobolic » the international community. For him, only a collective awareness will allow the country to escape diplomatic illusions and regain its destiny.
W.A.
