The transformation of the Multinational Security Support Mission into the Gang Suppression Force authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 2793 began in early 2026, with initial elements of the expanded force beginning deployment and planning for the more robust anti-gang operations that the new mandate authorized. The GSF’s arrival marked the most significant escalation of international security commitment to Haiti since the beginning of the crisis, offering the prospect of a force with adequate scale to meaningfully challenge gang territorial control.
The Gang Suppression Force’s expanded mandate — authorizing up to 5,550 personnel with the authority to conduct proactive operations against criminal groups — represented a substantial departure from the limited support role of the MSS. The new force could act independently of the Haitian police when necessary, could engage gang positions offensively, and had a specific mission to neutralize criminal networks rather than simply supporting Haitian security operations.
Early GSF operations focused on strategic areas where security improvements would have the greatest impact: protecting the airport and major supply routes, clearing neighborhoods that would allow displaced populations to return, and degrading the military capacity of the most powerful gang networks. The approach prioritized areas where operational success could be consolidated and demonstrated, building credibility and momentum for subsequent operations.
Haitian communities that had lived under gang control for years watched the arrival of additional international forces with a mixture of hope and the caution born of years of disappointed expectations. Every previous international security presence had promised more than it delivered. Whether the Gang Suppression Force would prove different — with adequate resources, sustained commitment, and genuine effectiveness — was the question on which Haiti’s immediate future depended.