Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Haiti to show U.S. support for international efforts to combat gang violence in the Caribbean nation.

Blinken arrived in Port-au-Prince on Thursday, where he met with interim Prime Minister Garry Conille and announced a new wave of humanitarian aid.

“At this critical juncture, we need more funding, we need more personnel to sustain and advance the objectives of this mission,” Blinken told reporters.

Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, vast swaths of Haiti have fallen under gang control, including about 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The Haitian government is struggling to regain control and maintain peace even as it grapples with a crisis of legitimacy of its own.

Just one day before Blinken’s visit, Haiti’s interim government expanded an existing state of emergency to the entire country, with violence spilling over into 10 departments.

Previously, the state of emergency only applied to the Ouest department, the densely populated region where Port-au-Prince is located.

But a spokesman for Prime Minister Conille said the extension of the state of emergency reflected gang fighting in departments like Artibonite, a large rice-growing region.

According to the United Nations, this violence forced a record 578,074 people to flee their homes in 2024, making it the world’s worst crime-induced internal displacement crisis.

It is estimated that around 2,500 people were killed or injured in the ongoing unrest in the first quarter of 2024 alone.

But in June, the Kenyan government sent an initial batch of 200 police to Haiti to support law enforcement in the country. A second batch of 200 Kenyan police arrived the following month, out of an expected 1,000.

Still, Blinken warned during his visit that Kenyan forces alone may not be able to stop gang violence.

He and other U.S. officials have openly speculated about whether a UN peacekeeping force is necessary.

But it is a controversial proposal in Haiti, where during their last mission there, UN peacekeepers were responsible for an outbreak of a deadly cholera epidemic.

Between 2010 and 2019, almost 10,000 people died from the disease.

The country also faces a long history of foreign intervention, which has made many people distrustful of international forces.

The first step, Blinken said during the visit, was to ensure the international community was ready to continue supporting the Kenyan forces, who arrived under a program known as the Multinational Security Assistance Mission.

The mission was approved last October for a one-year term. Blinken said it was time for the UN to reconvene and approve an extension.

“The mission itself needs to be renewed,” he said. “That’s what we’re working on now. But we also want something that’s reliable, that’s sustainable, and we’ll look at every option to do that. A UN peacekeeping mission is one option.”

The United States is the mission’s largest financial supporter, with President Joe Biden’s administration pledging $360 million in financial support.

An additional $45 million in humanitarian aid for Haiti was announced on Thursday.

Blinken also stressed the need for a stable, democratically elected government during his visit. He urged Haitian officials to implement plans for new general elections next year.

“This is a crucial next step,” he said. “We want to make sure Haiti returns to a clear path of democracy.”

Haiti has not held federal elections since the assassination of President Moise. In January 2023, the last democratically elected officials reached their term limits, with no one to replace them.

The government at that point was led by former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, whom the late Moise had appointed to the position shortly before his death. But Henry, an unelected official, was widely unpopular, and local gangs exploited distrust of the government to expand their influence and secure power.

Henry ultimately stepped down in April, allowing a transitional council to be appointed to restore democratic norms.

“There is much work to be done, and we are committed to continuing,” Blinken said. “Things are starting to move.”