By Michael Wilner and Jacqueline Charles

Updated March 14, 2024 1:24 PM

The Senate confirmed Dennis Hankins as U.S. ambassador to Haiti in a bipartisan vote on Thursday, resolving a years-long vacancy as the Caribbean nation faces a political and security crisis not seen in decades. The last ambassador in the role, Michele Sison, left in October 2021 after serving for three years. Since then, chargé d’affaires Eric Stromayer has been overseeing U.S. policy in the country. The White House said it was “urgent” that Hankins take office at a crucial time for Haiti. Gangs have overrun police stations and prisons in the capital, threatening to topple the country’s fragile transitional government. “This is a critical time to make sure that we have an ambassador in place,” National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, noting that violence in the capital of Port-au-Prince had only increased in recent days. “We certainly urgently need him in place.” Hankins’ experience will be a critical asset as the United States pushes for the deployment of a multinational security mission to Haiti, to be led by Kenya. Most of his diplomatic career has focused on Africa. He has also served as deputy director for peacekeeping in Washington. Fluent in French, along with Portuguese and Indonesian, he was nominated by President Joe Biden nearly a year ago in May. The career diplomat has nearly four decades of experience in some of the world’s toughest postings, including Sudan and Congo. He has also served as ambassador in Mali and Guinea. Stromayer, who speaks Haitian-Creole, worked in Haiti early in his career and served as ambassador to the Togolese Republic. Despite Stromayer’s presence, the lack of an ambassador has been a concern, given the escalating gang violence. While Republican lawmakers in Congress did protract the vacancy, the Biden administration also took its time nominating a replacement for Sison. One proposed individual reportedly dropped out after the process took too long, and another declined to take the post after being approached. Some members of Congress had called for Biden to appoint a special envoy for the country after senior U.S. diplomat Daniel Foote resigned in 2021 and called the Biden administration’s deportation policy on Haiti “inhumane.” Foote has continued his criticism of the administration’s policies, taking to Twitter to blast former colleagues at the State Department and their support for outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was forced to resign after a shift in U.S. policy. During his career, Hankins served three times as deputy chief of mission in Sudan, Mauritania and Mozambique, as principal officer in Sao Paulo, and consul general in Riyadh. But most of his diplomatic career appears to have taken place in Africa, which may be of benefit should Kenya succeed in deploying 1,000 of its police officers to the gang-ridden country as part of a multinational security force. *Hankins’ experience in Haiti is limited to a stint early in his career as the nonimmigrant visa chief and the refugee coordinator in the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince.* In Washington, Hankins has served as deputy director for peacekeeping, senior watch officer, and Angola desk officer. Hankins earned a bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University and a master’s at the National War College.

This story was originally published March 14, 2024, 1:09