Haiti–United States relations (French: Relations Entre Haïti et Les États-Unis; Haitian Creole: Relasyon Ayiti-Etazini) are bilateral relations between Haiti and the United States. Thomas Jefferson imposed a trade embargo on Haiti, and succeeding U.S. presidents refused to recognize the country until Abraham Lincoln in 1862.
Because of Haiti's location, Haiti has the potential to affect the stability of the Caribbean and Latin America and is therefore strategically important to the United States. Historically, the United States viewed Haiti as a counterbalance to Communist leaders in Cuba. Haiti's potential as a trading partner and an actor in the drug trade makes the nation strategically important to the United States. Moreover, the two are tied by a large Haitian diaspora residing in the United States. The U.S. occupied Haiti longer than any other Caribbean country (from 1915 to 1934, from 1994 to 1995, and in 2004).
Public opinion polling of Haitians has found overall approval of the United States. According to a 2011 Gallup survey, 79% of Haitians approved of U.S. leadership, with 18% disapproving and 3% uncertain, the highest rating for any surveyed country in the Americas.U.S. Global Leadership Project Report - 2012 Gallup
History Haiti–United States relations (1800–1914)
Then-U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and other Federalists supported Toussaint Louverture's revolution against France in Haiti, revolution fought by enslaved Africans. Hamilton's suggestions helped shape the Haitian Constitution. In 1804 Haiti became the Western Hemisphere's first independent state with a majority Black population. Hamilton urged closer economic and diplomatic ties.
Hamilton and Timothy Pickering worked to convince John Adams to appoint Edward Stevens as the United States consul-general in Saint-Domingue (later Haiti) from 1799 to 1800. Adams sent Stevens to Haiti with instructions to establish a relationship with Toussaint and express support for his regime. The Federalist administration hoped to incite a movement toward Haitian independence, but Louverture maintained a colonial relationship with France. Stevens's title, consul, suggested a diplomat attached to a country not a colony, reflecting the Adams administration's view of the Haitian situation. Following his arrival in Haiti in April 1799, Stevens succeeded in accomplishing several of his objectives, including: the suppression of privateers operating out of the colony, protections for American lives and property, and right of entry for American vessels. On June 13, 1799, he signed a convention which resulted in an armistice and gave protections to American merchantmen from Haitian privateers, in addition to allowing U.S. ships to enter Haiti and engage in free trade.
Following the Federalist Party's defeat in the 1800 United States presidential election, the United States under President Jefferson (a Virginia slaveowner who only supported manumission of African-Americans from slavery on the condition of voluntary removal to Africa) withdrew diplomatic recognition from Toussaint's autonomous government and worked to curry favor with the government of Napoleon Bonaparte. Pro-slavery southerners in the United States aided in delaying the United States' recognition of Haiti's independence.
President Abraham Lincoln spoke in favor of recognizing both Haiti and Liberia at the opening of the 37th United States Congress in 1861. Senator Charles Sumner introduced a bill to extend recognition to both countries on February 4, 1862, and it eventually passed and was signed into law by Lincoln. The United States recognized the independence of Haiti, which was achieved in 1804, on July 12, 1862, with Benjamin F. Whidden as its first representative.
President Andrew Johnson suggested annexing the island to secure influence over Europe in the Caribbean. The US government never followed through but posted active military on the island. In the 19th century, people who were mixed-race and blacks often entered into conflicts and called on foreign intervention. According to historian Hans Schmidt, the US Navy sent ships to Haiti 19 times between 1857 and 1913 to "protect American lives and property" until the United States finally occupied Haiti in 1915. One example of a US-Haiti conflict was the Môle Saint-Nicolas affair.
Occupation of Haiti by the United States (1915–1934)
From 1915 to 1934 the US Marines occupied Haiti. Prior to the occupation, the US military had taken control of the banks and collected $500,000 to hold in New York. The Haitian constitution was written in a manner that prevented foreign entities from owning land or operating in Haiti. However, as a result of the occupation, the US had influenced the Haitian government to rewrite the constitution to repeal an 1804 provision that forbade foreigners from owning land in Haiti. The occupation impacted the nation's economy as well as the people's self-image and independence. Ultimately, Haitians united in resistance of the US occupation, and US forces left in 1934. Left behind was a newly trained Haitian Army, the Garde, with mostly black soldiers and mulatto officers, who dominated political office until 1947.
US interventions in Haiti (1957–2005) From 1957 to 1971, François Duvalier governed Haiti under a repressive dictatorship. Some argue the US tolerated the regime because it was staunchly anti-communist and a counterbalance to communist Cuba during the Cold War. When Duvalier died, his son, Jean-Claude ("Baby Doc") took over and maintained many of his father's policies.
The Reagan administration forced Baby Doc to leave in 1986, and when a repressive military dictatorship arose, Reagan suspended aid. The George H.W. Bush administration also embargoed and then blockaded Haiti, suspending all but humanitarian aid. 1990s
After the fall of the Duvalier family and other military regimes, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected in 1990, but he was toppled in a coup 7 months later. In 1993, the Clinton administration began to impose an economic blockade, which further impoverished the country, and in 1994, it eventually intervened militarily restore Aristide to power. US support for Aristide waned following concerns about his corruption, and a February 2004 armed rebellion led to his exile.
After René Préval succeeded Aristide, aid flowed again to Haiti, totaling $1.5 billion from 1990 to 2005.
Since 1994
Some policy experts argue that US policy and interventions have made problems in Haiti worse by making Haitian welfare America's responsibility. US policy toward Haiti is officially intended to foster and strengthen democracy; help alleviate poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition; promote respect for human rights; and counter illegal migration and drug trafficking. The US also supports and facilitates bilateral trade and investment along with legal migration and travel. US policy goals are met through direct bilateral action and by working with the international community. The US has taken a leading role in organizing international involvement with Haiti and works closely with the Organization of American States (OAS), particularly through its Secretary General's "Friends of Haiti" group (originally a UN group that included the US, Canada, France, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, which was enlarged in 2001 to add Germany, Spain, Norway, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and The Bahamas), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and individual countries to achieve policy goals.
According to a 2005–2006 poll, 67 percent of Haitians would emigrate if they could, and 2 million people of Haitian descent live in the United States, 60 percent of whom are American-born. Four-fifths of Haiti's college-educated citizens live outside Haiti. Following the January 2010 earthquake, the Department of Homeland Security temporarily stopped deportations of Haitians and granted Temporary Protected Status for 18 months for Haitian nationals.
In 2010, US President Bill Clinton apologized for his role in demanding for Haiti to drop tariffs on the importation of subsidized US rice, which had a negative effect on Northern Haitian rice farmers. On May 24, 2010, the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) was signed into US law, ensuring preferential tariffs for Haitian-produced garments. On October 22, 2012, acting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave the keynote speech for the opening of the controversial Caracol industrial park.
In 2011, WikiLeaks leaked info that showed the Obama administration fought to keep Haitian wages at 31 cents an hour when the Haiti government passed a law raising its minimum wage to 61 cents an hour.
In November 2019, US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft met with President of Haiti Jovenel Moïse at the Haiti National Palace about ways to implement a consensual resolution of Haiti's political crisis through inclusive dialogue. Craft later met with political leaders from other Haitian parties, listened to their different views, and urged an inclusive solution with Moïse. She also urged the Haitian government to fight corruption, investigate and prosecute human rights abusers, and combat narcotics and human trafficking.
In July 2023, amidst a deteriorating political situation and civil unrest following the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the US State Department ordered its employees and families to leave the island.
During 2024 escalation of the Gang war in Haiti, the US flew in forces to help evacuate nonessential personnel. Later in March, an anti-terrorism security team, FAST, was deployed to reinforce the American Embassy.
On March 2, 2025, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for urgent international support, proposing a UN Support Office to assist the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission. Over 5,600 people were killed in gang violence in 2024, with major massacres in Port-au-Prince and Pont-Sondé. The International Crisis Group warned that rushed elections, planned for November 2025, could worsen instability. Meanwhile, Haiti’s healthcare system is collapsing, with over 1 million internally displaced and half the population facing food insecurity.
United States Special Envoy for Haiti
The United States special envoy for Haiti was a diplomatic position within the United States Department of State created after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse. The special envoy coordinates efforts between Haiti and the United States to promote peace and stability in the country.
The inaugural special envoy was Daniel Lewis Foote, who served from July to September 2021. Foote resigned following frustrations that his "recommendations [had] been ignored and dismissed".
In August 2022, four members of Congress called on President Biden to name a new special envoy.
U.S. economic and development assistance to Haiti
Political insecurity and the failure of Haiti's governments to invest in developing the country's natural and human resources has contributed significantly to the country's current state of underdevelopment. U.S. efforts to strengthen democracy and help build the foundation for economic growth aim to rectify this condition. The U.S. has been Haiti's largest donor since 1973. Between FY 1995 and FY 2003, the U.S. contributed more than $850 million in assistance to Haiti. Since 2004, the U.S. has provided over $600 million for improving governance, security, the rule of law, economic recovery, and critical human needs. The President's budget request for FY 2007 was $198 million. U.S. Government funds have been used to support programs that have addressed a variety of problems.