Miami Herald By Jacqueline Charles Updated December 19, 2025 2:39 PM
Lack of authorization from the Haitian government to operate its container port is straining Haiti’s relations with the European Union, one of the country’s major donors.
Terminal Varreux near Cité Soleil in Port-au-Prince., a joint venture with European investors. Lack of authorization from the Haitian government to operate its container port is straining Haiti’s relations with the European Union, one of the country’s major donors. The European Union has long been one of Haiti’s most important donors, and among the few that provide aid directly to the government’s treasury rather than channeling funds through non-governmental organizations. Now, that relationship is under strain. As European nations seek to deepen their engagement with Haiti amid its worsening political, security and humanitarian crisis, a dispute over foreign investment obstacles in Haiti, particularly its port operations, has escalated into a diplomatic standoff.
A major European investor says administrative delays by Haitian authorities are jeopardizing a $60 million investment in one of the country’s main seaports, raising the prospect that badly needed European aid could be delayed or withheld. “Yes, there is pressure from the European Union,” a diplomat not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to the Miami Herald. The pressure, the diplomat says, stems from concerns about the lack of competition in the country’s ports and who can receive cargo containers in Port-au-Prince. It comes after multiple attempts over the years by both French and EU ambassadors to get the Haitian government to allow customs agents to clear containers at privately owned Terminal Varreux. The diplomats raised concerns about the significant investments made by the French Development Agency in the project in the terminal, which has emerged as a key depot for the country’s fuel supply, and the negative message the Haitian government is sending to prospective foreign investors in a country in desperate need of jobs and economic development.
Foreign investment Last month, a representative of Africa Global Logistics, the firm responsible for modernizing the terminal, told Haiti’s Le Nouvelliste newspaper that the company is still awaiting authorization from the Haitian government to allow customs agents to clear containers despite the firm’s $60-million-plus investment. “This is obviously a concerted effort by the public and private interests at the main port to maintain a monopoly at the detriment of Haiti’s development,” said David Ware, Africa Global Logistics’ representative. Africa Global Logistics is in a joint venture with Terminal Varreux. After Haiti’s 2010 earthquake destroyed the Port-au-Prince port and other infrastructure, the country’s prime minister at the time, Jean-Max Bellerive, requested a port study from the World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation.
The study concluded the country needed about $400 million in port infrastructure to be competitive and address the needs of Haitians. Unable to come up with the funds, the government decided the money should come from private investors, Bellerive said. “The port sector would benefit from more competition, not less. Haiti’s developing economy is heavily dependent on imports, so any inefficiencies in port logistics and maritime transport have a penalizing effect on the price of basic goods, and ultimately makes living more expensive for ordinary Haitians,” said Bellerive, who has worked as a consultant for Varreux. Terminal Varreux Haitian government officials and competitors have questioned Varreux’s authorization to construct a container port.
A document seen by the Miami Herald shows that in 2017 the director general of the National Port Authority at the time authorized development of oil and container quays at Varreux. The authorization paved the way for millions of dollars in international loans from Citibank and the private-sector lending arm of the French Development Agency, Proparco. “Terminal Varreux has its port authorization in good order, and I can say this because I have personally seen these documents while attending port sector meetings,” said Bellerive. “Varreux has obtained international loans based on their valid permit. It is absurd and dishonest that the current administration is attempting to question these authorizations after all these years.”
Michon later took to X publicly air his frustrations over the lack of government authorization for the private port to operate containers. France’s ambassador to Haiti, Antoine Michon, center, visits Terminal Varreux near Cité Soleil in Port-au-Prince. Michon later took to X publicly air his frustrations over the lack of government authorization for the private port to operate containers.
On Monday, the French ambassador to Haiti, Antoine Michon, visited Varreux, where millions of dollars in equipment sit unused. Michon took to social media Thursday to air his frustrations. “This leading port facility is the last major European investment in Haiti,” Michon said in a post on X. “It has been awaiting since 2020 the assignment of specialized customs officers in order to be able to receive containers. Its opening would allow for the creation of hundreds of jobs and the engagement of new investments beneficial to the Haitian economy, by integrating it into the major global economic flows.” Long-standing dispute The dispute over port operations is part of a longstanding struggle over control of Haiti’s ports, and the desire by successive governments to maintain control over the lucrative cargo-container traffic in a country heavily dependent on imports. The government recently awarded a no-bid concession that places the country’s largest seaport, the main Port-au-Prince port, under private control for as long as 30 years. The contract was allegedly signed between the former director general of National Port Authority and the president of Caribbean Port Services S.A.
Under the deal, Caribbean Port Services, a private entity that has had a de facto monopoly at the Port-au-Prince seaport since a 2016 lease agreement to service vessels, would continue to control container operations at the government-owned port, potentially until 2059. The terminal handles about 80% of the inbound containers in Haiti. Although the concession is formally a partnership with the National Port Authority, its unusually long duration and allegations that legal procedures were not respected have raised concerns among diplomats and port industry officials.
The controversial contract was questioned by Fritz Jean, a member of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, who called for a review by the country’s Court of Auditors. It’s unclear if such a review is under way on the contract, which was supposed to go into effect in October. The contract states that its long duration would better enable the private port operators “to amortize the investments made and achieve acceptable profitability.” The contract says Caribbean Port Services has held leases for over 30 years at the port and has invested considerable sums in creating container storage facilities. Europe’s concerns For European officials, the issue extends beyond Varreux. It’s about Europe’s Global Gateway initiative, a development strategy launched to counter China’s Belt and Road initiative by promoting private-public partnerships in infrastructure investments.
Though the Terminal Varreux issue predates Global Gateway, a European diplomat said it exemplifies the kind of infrastructure investment the initiative is meant to support. European concerns didn’t just start now. In 2024, correspondence from the European Commission’s International Partnership office was sent to the prime minister at the time, Ariel Henry about the Varreux port issue and the country’s business climate, complaining about lack of transparency and the need for port and customs reform. So far this year, about 20 million euros in funding have been released to Haiti. But another 30 million euros remain on hold over concerns about fairness and the lack of competition. The port issue shows how Haiti’s monopolistic practices block foreign investment even when all necessary audits and authorizations have been provided to international partners and financial institutions. That way of doing business hinders the country’s development, and is increasingly raising eyebrows among foreign donors. As an example, when a new seaport opened in the south of the country earlier this year to much fanfare, the government initially blocked operators from receiving containers until pressure by the private port association forced the government to back down. “It’s not specifically about Varreux,” one official said about the conditions placed on the disbursement of the money, adding that the issue of fairness of competition “is an element that they will look at before deciding on releasing the rest of the money.”
Haiti’s finance minister did not respond to a Herald inquiry about the port deal and the EU’s concerns. But the pressure from Europe comes at a precarious moment for the country’s port sector. Armed gangs are making tens of millions of dollars by extorting truck drivers entering and exiting facilities, and last month the U.S. Coast Guard placed Haiti’s ports on high alert. The Coast Guard warned Haitian authorities that the ports do not meet international security standards, and gave the government 90 days to make security improvements or risk having vessels denied entry at U.S. ports — a move that could further hinder the flow of food, fuel and humanitarian aid.