U.S. Plans Closer Coordination With Erik Prince’s Haiti Security Firm

U.S. security officials are preparing to deepen coordination with a private military company led by Erik Prince in Haiti, even as human rights organizations raise concerns over civilian casualties linked to the firm’s drone operations.

During a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Colonel Justin Gorkowski of the U.S. Department of Defense said American officials plan to formalize cooperation with Haiti’s government-run Task Force, which works alongside Erik Prince’s Vectus Global. The company has operated in Haiti since March 2025, using drones to target powerful gangs that control large parts of the country.

Gorkowski, who co-leads an oversight team supporting the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), described Haiti’s Task Force as a valuable partner. He said a Task Force officer will soon join the joint operations center, allowing closer coordination with Vectus Global while noting there is currently no operational overlap. He added that cooperation could expand further as anti-gang operations progress.

The move comes as Human Rights Watch reported that 1,243 people were killed in 141 drone strike operations between March 2025 and January 2026. The organization said the deaths included 43 civilian adults and 17 children, while another 738 people were injured, including 49 civilians. It also noted that both the number of operations and fatalities increased significantly between October and January.

Gorkowski said he was not aware of the specific casualty figures but stressed that efforts were being made to minimize civilian harm. Michael Kozak, a senior U.S. official for Western Hemisphere affairs, told lawmakers that Washington relies on human rights organizations for casualty assessments. Gorkowski described Haiti’s conflict as a wartime situation and said Task Force drone strikes were becoming more precise.

A State Department official recently told Reuters that U.S. citizens working for Vectus Global as foreign government contractors are not required to disclose their activities, and the U.S. government does not oversee the company’s operations.

Despite legal and human rights concerns, the drone campaign has been credited by some observers with weakening gangs in Port-au-Prince. Haiti hired Prince’s company after the Kenyan-led U.N.-backed mission failed to reach its troop target. The newer Gang Suppression Force aims to deploy 5,500 personnel by the fall, with Chad, Sri Lanka, Ivory Coast, and Bangladesh expected to play key roles as the mission seeks renewal in October.