U.S. Funding Cuts Fuel Child Recruitment Into Haitian Armed Groups

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—The recent U.S. funding cuts have pushed children into joining armed groups in Haiti, as a young man named Emmanuel learned firsthand. At the age of 19, Emmanuel was left to care for three siblings after their father left Haiti for Brazil, and the only hope he had for a job came through Sakala, a local youth development organization.

However, when the U.S. froze funding for organizations like Sakala in January 2025, Emmanuel was forced to abandon hopes of a better future and join Viv Ansanm, a coalition of gangs controlling large parts of the capital. Daniel Tillias, co-founder of Sakala, expressed his disappointment at the loss of U.S. support, stating that the organization had been attempting to offer alternatives to gang recruitment through job training, education, and community mediation.

With the freeze on U.S. aid, only 7.6 percent of USAID's spending since late 2023 reached local organizations directly, leaving a void in vital social services such as education and job opportunities. As a result, nearly 1.5 million Haitians have been internally displaced, food insecurity affects more than half the population, and armed groups have expanded their control to 90 percent of Port-au-Prince.