Former United States Envoy to Haiti Daniel Foote is on the headlines again, this time after his remarks stating that the Haiti mission is a “cash grab” opportunity for President William Ruto.

Mr Foote, who is known for his controversial stands on the Haiti situation, was speaking in an interview with CNN in one of his frequent media engagements on the Haiti mission.

In response to a question about his thoughts on some Kenyans being against the planned deployment of Kenyan police, Foote noted that he was ‘nervous’ about Ruto’s motive.

He went on to give insights about how past missions in Haiti played out, stating that the 1,000 police officers Kenya is looking to deploy are far from being enough to face organized gangs in the Caribbean nation.

“A thousand is not going to cut it and while they have commitments to double or triple, that is not going to cut it,” he said in the interview.

“Every time we had an intervention in the Haiti in the past it had a minimum of 20,000 troops or police going there.”

Daniel Foote explains why Ruto is after money

According to Ambassador Foote, Kenya would receive “a lot of money” if the Haiti mission went on as planned.

However, the former US ambassador who served as the Special Envoy to Haiti from July 2021 to September 2021 warned that Haiti gangs are well armed hence the war would likely prove costly. 

Also Read: Uproar as Former US Envoy to Haiti Gives Harsh Truth on Kenya’s Mission

“You see the reticence on the part of the Kenyan public to send these guys and that makes me nervous. I believe that this is more of a cash grab by President Ruto whose country would receive a lot of money for doing this, but the Haitians are well armed and if the international community imposes this new government, they are going to fight the Kenyans to the death,” he said.

When Foote called Kenya third world

Foote’s remarks in his CNN interview add to the long list of controversial stances he has taken in the recent past. While speaking to an Al Jazeera news anchor earlier in the month, Foote sparked reactions after referring to Kenya as a “third world country” and stressed that any intervention needs to be led by a country with a proven police ability. 

Also Read: UN Agency Warns of Worse Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti

“If the US or England, Germany, France, Britain, or the EU do not lead such a mission it will fail. You cannot ask the Kenyans to do it, they can’t keep Nairobi safe,” he stated in response to the questions raised in the Al Jazeera interview.

“To be successful any intervention needs to be led by a country that is good at creating police and security capacity, not an unproven third world country.”

Daniel Foote resigned from his role as US special envoy to Haiti in protest of the decision by the US to deport immigrants. Previously, Foote had served as the US Ambassador to Zambia but had to be recalled after a move by Zambian government to reject gay rights.