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The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, met this Tuesday with the Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé at the Department of State in Washington D.C. to reaffirm U.S. support for the stabilization process in Haiti.
The interest of Washington in Haiti also reflects its strategic importance in the Caribbean, a key region for security and hemispheric stability.
This Caribbean country, located just 700 kilometers from Cuba, represents an important point of influence for the United States in a context marked by political pressure on the Cuban regime and the need to manage migration and security crises.
In this scenario, the support for Haiti not only has economic implications, but also geopolitical ones, as it strengthens the U.S. presence in a sensitive area of its regional environment.
Rubio confirmed the meeting in a message posted on X: "I met with Prime Minister Fils-Aimé. We reiterated our nation's support for Haiti's path toward elections and the importance of the multiyear authorization from Congress for HOPE/HELP."
One of the central themes of the meeting was the reauthorization of the HOPE/HELP programs, which grant tariff preferences for Haitian textile exports to the U.S. market and that expired on September 30, 2025.
The House of Representatives approved the reauthorization on January 12, 2026, with a bipartisan vote of 340 to 54, extending the programs for three years until September 30, 2028, but the measure is still pending approval in the Senate.
Rubio urged Congress to swiftly approve the reauthorization, emphasizing its importance for the Haitian economy and regional stability.
The HOPE/HELP programs accounted for over 80% of Haitian exports in 2022, employed up to 60,000 workers in 2021, and also have an impact in the Dominican Republic, where for every three jobs created in Haiti, one is generated in Dominican territory.
The other priority topic of the meeting was the pathway to the general elections scheduled for August 30, which depend on the Provisional Electoral Council ensuring an acceptable security climate and the availability of financial resources.
Haiti is facing a critical security crisis: the gang coalition "Viv Ansanm" controls approximately 90% of Port-au-Prince, over 1.4 million people have been displaced, and more than 1,200 have died from violence alone between July and September 2025, according to the UN.
Fils-Aimé has been serving as interim prime minister since November 10 of 2024. Following the dissolution of the Transitional Presidential Council on February 7, 2026, he holds all executive powers in the country until the next elections are held.
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