Imperial Puppetry: U.S. Power Plays in Haiti and Sudan’s Devastation

November 28, 2024 –
From Hood Communist

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The crises enveloping Sudan and Haiti today may appear as isolated tragedies, but they are both propelled by the same driving force: U.S. imperialism. This imperialist framework destabilizes nations by empowering predatory allies—UAE-backed militias in Sudan and Kenyan forces alongside the Core Group in Haiti. These conflicts, made possible by Western hegemony, illustrate a pattern of exploitative practices that devastate communities while securing resources and strategic control for Western powers.

The conflict in Sudan has unleashed a massive humanitarian crisis, displacing 13 million people from their homes in just over a year and a half. The devastating toll of the conflict is most evident in overcrowded camps for displaced civilians, where famine has already taken hold. Other regions of the country are teetering on the brink of famine, grappling with famine-like conditions that exacerbate the suffering of millions. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) play a central and destructive role in Sudan’s ongoing civil war, acting as both a combatant and a driver of instability. Originally formed as a paramilitary group from the notorious Janjaweed militias during the Darfur conflict, the RSF has grown into a powerful and autonomous force that directly challenges the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for control of the country.

The UAE’s support for the RSF to secure land, minerals, and ports offers a vivid example of imperialism’s proxy methods. The RSF, known for egregious human rights abuses, acts as a UAE-backed guarantor for Emirati agribusinesses and control over Sudan’s Red Sea trade routes. Over the past decades, the UAE has banked on Sudan’s land for “food security,” an endeavor that has turned to militarized force through the RSF to sideline local opposition. Reports reveal that UAE firms farm over 200,000 hectares in Sudan and hold vested interests in a new Red Sea port. This arrangement is no benign investment: rather, it is a profit-driven scheme cloaked in violence, enabled by Western hegemony’s economic and military networks, which bolster the UAE’s influence across Africa. Due to its arid climate, the UAE imports over 90% of its food, primarily from Western suppliers or Western-backed agricultural projects in Africa. This dependency connects the UAE’s domestic food security directly to Western-dominated trade routes, agricultural technology, and supply chains. This dependency underscores the UAE’s deep ties to Western-led systems that shape its economic reach and alliances across Africa.

U.S. imperialism remains the main contradiction because it underpins most other forms of dominance in the region. Local or regional powers like the UAE play influential roles but often do so within the larger framework of Western-imposed stability. The UAE relies on Western-built military infrastructure, training, and diplomatic support, which reinforces its alignment with U.S. interests in countering perceived threats and securing resources. Designated a major defense partner by the U.S., the UAE’s military is strengthened through arms deals with Western allies, while its economic influence in the Horn of Africa is secured through Western-endorsed investments and aid. Western governments often tolerate or support UAE interventions, as in Yemen or Somalia, where the UAE’s actions can be aligned with Western goals, such as countering extremist groups or containing Iranian influence. Without these frameworks, the UAE’s dominance would be more challenging to project.

The UAE’s wealth, derived primarily from oil, is embedded within the Western-dominated global market. This oil wealth, traded in U.S. dollars under the petrodollar system, ties the UAE’s economy to Western financial systems. Investments from the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund flow into Western real estate, technology, and financial assets, creating an interdependency that aligns the UAE’s stability with that of Western economies. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have become global trade hubs, relying on international shipping regulations and economic frameworks rooted in Western systems. This integration cements the UAE’s role as both a strategic partner to the West and a conduit for Western interests in Africa.

In Haiti, a similar imperialist pattern unfolds through U.S.-imposed political and economic control. Former Prime Minister Garry Conille traveled to the UAE and Kenya seeking “security assistance.” This foreign dependency, emblematic of Haiti’s history of imperialist intervention, highlights the prioritization of Western-backed “security” over genuine, grassroots stability. The U.S. continues to support Haiti’s government with funding and multinational security missions, yet these efforts have not mitigated Haiti’s pervasive poverty, displacement, or violence. Instead, these issues are exacerbated by neoliberal policies imposed by the U.S. and its allies, deepening Haiti’s economic and political subservience.

Conille, who was backed by the Core Group, quickly became a symbol of foreign influence in Haitian politics. Initially chosen by the Core Group as a former Bill Clinton aide, Conille was disconnected from Haiti before assuming office. At the 79th UN General Assembly, he attempted a diplomatic coup by sidelining the official head of Haiti’s Transitional Council of Presidents (CPT), Edgar LeBlanc Fils. Although Conille’s maneuver failed, it underscored the extent of U.S. influence, which keeps Haiti’s political landscape fractured and subservient to Western interests.

Massacres in 2018, 2019, and 2021, funded and directed by local elites and foreign powers, crushed grassroots movements that dared to question foreign interference and neoliberal policies. Haiti’s sovereignty is further undermined by the ongoing Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), a U.S.-orchestrated intervention led by Kenya. Authorized by the UN under the guise of combating “gang violence,” this mission is another extension of the same imperialist playbook. The so-called security force is nothing more than a tool to maintain U.S. control while appearing to help.

For the U.S., the goal is clear: to use Haiti as a geopolitical stronghold, a staging ground for a permanent military presence to protect “U.S. national security and interests” and keep the Caribbean under control. The Core Group’s tight grip on Haiti’s governance—executed through a nine-member “Presidential Council” established by the U.S.—ensures that Haitian leadership remains powerless, unable to defy foreign intervention. Just as the U.S. uses proxies to control Haiti, it also depends on the UAE to secure resources in Sudan. In Sudan, however, this intervention takes on a militarized form, with the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) wreaking havoc to safeguard Emirati investments and Western economic interests. Through the RSF, the UAE maintains control over Sudan’s valuable agricultural lands and critical Red Sea trade routes.

The story of imperialism is an unbroken chain linking Sudan’s RSF and Haiti’s unelected government to their patrons in the West. Each conflict feeds into the strategy of U.S. imperialism: destabilize, extract, and control, all while passing off intervention as humanitarianism. Imperialism, as the main contradiction in both conflicts, remains the primary driver of the UAE’s exploitation in Sudan and the U.S.’s control in Haiti. Addressing these crises requires defeating the imperialist frameworks that fuel and profit from them, rather than allowing these crises to persist under the guise of “stability” and “support.”

Both Haiti and Sudan demonstrate that U.S. imperialism spares no method to crush local sovereignty. In Haiti, where elections and security forces are manipulated to keep power centralized, imperialism cloaks itself in diplomacy and “support.” In Sudan, where the RSF and the UAE extract resources through military terror, it operates with brute force. In both cases, the devastation wrought upon local populations—displacement, hunger, and violence—serves as a grim reminder of imperialism’s true cost.

The struggle for liberation in Haiti and Sudan is intrinsically connected. Each country suffers under a regime of neoliberal policies and foreign-backed governance that prioritizes Western economic gain over the lives of millions. The path forward is clear: to confront and defeat the imperialist framework driving these crises and end the foreign interventions that perpetuate them. Only then can the Haitian and Sudanese people assert their right to self-determination.