During a biannual conference this week, top Caribbean leaders are expected to discuss Haiti’s escalating disarray and its effects on the region, with some bitterly lamenting the steady flow of refugees pouring on their coasts as they flee poverty and escalating violence.

Caricom, the Caribbean trade organisation, will convene for three days beginning on Wednesday in the Bahamas.

Some of the 15 members of the group are attempting to bring important Haitian stakeholders to a neutral country in the area in order to achieve an understanding of holding elections in the poor nation that has been deprived of all institutions that were democratically elected.

Elections in Haiti cannot take place, according to the international community and local authorities, until the violence has been subdued.

During a meeting of the Organization of American States on Friday, Haiti’s foreign minister, Jean Victor Généus, issued a warning that the country’s level of insecurity has increased and may soon spread to its neighbours.

The Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis, who has frequently bemoaned the cost of repatriating hundreds of Cubans and thousands of Haitians over the past year, will host the Caricom summit. He contends that Caricom must assist in resolving Haiti’s security, political, and economic dilemma.

Since the killing of President Jovenel Mose in July 2021, violence has increased in Haiti as poverty and famine worsen. Gangs have also become more strong. More than 1,200 kidnappings were reported last year, more than double the number from the year before. Meanwhile, the UN reports that 1,200 killings were reported in 2017, a 35% increase from the year before.