Blinken announces new Haiti aid and urges more for police force

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a rare visit to violence-ravaged Haiti on Thursday heard guarded optimism as he promised $45 million in aid, urged greater international support for a new security mission and sought concrete action toward elections.

Blinken was the highest-ranking US official in nearly a decade to visit the country, which has been plagued by instability and whose capital had virtually been taken over by criminal gangs. Meeting Blinken, interim Prime Minister Garry Conille acknowledged that Haiti faced an "extremely complex" situation but voiced hope. He also visited the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission’s Life Support Area in Port-au-Prince in Haiti.