The question of whether the US military should intervene in Haiti is a complex matter. Haiti is currently going through a crisis with intense political turmoil, extreme hunger, and gang violence.  Acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry has requested international military assistance. Even though there are calls for intervention, the US military should not intervene in this matter as it would be a repeat of past mistakes.

Past interventions in Haiti have not had positive results. Some Haitians and intellectuals have criticized calls for US military intervention, citing past interventions by foreign powers that further destabilized Haiti and left a trail of abuses. For instance, intellectuals and members of Haiti's civil society quickly poked holes in a call by Haitian officials for the United States to send in troops, referring to previous interventions by international organizations and foreign powers that escalated Haitian challenges further. This is an obvious sign that Haiti needs to find a homegrown solution and that international intervention has wreaked more havoc.

The majority of Haitians believe that their country will only stabilize if they are left to find a solution to their challenges on their own. Operations that have been carried out earlier in the nation have added to the instability. The argument is that the assassination of President Jovenel Moise provides them with a long-awaited chance to reform Haiti's institutions.  In this instance, foreign intervention would simply not work. Monique Clesca, a Haitian pro-democracy activist and former United Nations official, stated in an interview that foreign intervention is similar to coming back with a toolbox, but the box contains the wrong tools in it. What needs to be in the toolbox are Haitian voices.

Another reason why the US military should take a back seat in Haiti is Haiti's history of foreign subjugation. In the past, Haiti has been the target of numerous invasions and incursions, including a 19-year US occupation between 1915 and 1934. Although the US occupation claimed to be for Haiti's benefit, its legacy included laying the groundwork for the Duvalier dictatorship's overthrow and enriching American elites. In 1915, American troops were sent to Haiti, reportedly to restore order to a nation that had fallen into chaos following a presidential assassination. However, over the next 19 years, the U.S. military executed political dissidents and established a system of forced labor that ravaged Haiti’s peasant population. Pooja Bhatia writes in The Guardian that US justifications for intervention ignore the ways in which Haiti has rarely, if ever, been allowed to manage its own affairs.

Any intervention in Haiti needs to dig deeper into the root causes. Foreign interventions may not be able to address the root causes of Haiti’s challenges. The remedy to the crisis must be Haitian and there needs to be a broader institutional debate that will bring together the political class, civil society in Haiti, and its diaspora. For instance, Andre Michel, a human rights advocate and opposition chief, called for an all-inclusive institutional debate that would gather all the stakeholders.

There are numerous compelling justifications why the US military should not intervene in Haiti. Haitians should be left to come up with their own solutions to the stability of the country and address root causes rather than depend on external intervention. It is important to give priority to Haitian voices in the current crisis.