HAITI: PCI/KR RESPONSE FOR S/CT

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000276 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR, S/CT GAIL ROBERTSON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC PTER PREL ECON ETTC EAID EFIN HA SUBJECT: HAITI: PCI/KR RESPONSE FOR S/CT REF: STATE 06461 ¶1. Per reftel criteria, Haiti possesses only one critical dependency relevant to the United States: the Haitian side of the Windward Passage, an 80 km-wide strait between the northwest corner of Haiti and the eastern tip of Cuba, which connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and which lies on shipping lanes between the Panama Canal and the eastern ports of the United States. The Government of Haiti has no navy and a fledgling Coast Guard, which has near-zero capability to patrol or protect the Haitian side of the Windward Passage. ¶2. The Government of Haiti has limited capability to protect its own critical infrastructure, due to the absence of a military and a limited police force. The Government has made no assessment of critical infrastructure in Haiti nor does it have the means to protect such infrastructure. SANDERSON