Biden says US will protect embassy, requests Haiti troop ask

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says the U.S. will bolster security at its embassy in Haiti following last week’s assassination of that country’s president, but sending American troops to stabilize the country is “not on the agenda.”

Haiti’s interim government last week asked the U.S. and the United Nations to deploy troops to protect key infrastructure following President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination.

Biden is signaling he is not open to the request, which comes as he is drawing down U.S. forces in Afghanistan this summer.

Biden says, “We’re only sending American Marines to our embassy,” adding, “The idea of sending American forces to Haiti is not on the agenda.”