BASSETERRE, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Feb 26, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that a new security force for violence-wracked Haiti was taking shape well, while voicing optimism that elections could finally take place after a decade.

At a Caribbean summit, Rubio met with Prime Minister Alix Fils-Aime, who was handed power this month with US support by a transitional council that dissolved after failing to crack down on rampant gang violence.

The UN Security Council last year authorized a new international force tasked with neutralizing the gangs that have virtually taken over the capital Port-au-Prince.

"We are very happy with the commitments we have gotten in terms of personnel," Rubio told reporters at the summit in the tiny Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

"We feel like we've got more commitments than we have spots available for that Gang Suppression Force," he said.

Elections are set in Haiti in two rounds in August and December. The elections would be the first in Haiti since 2016, with voting since then repeatedly delayed due to security concerns or political chaos.

Rubio said that the anti-gang force would improve security and help "hold elections perhaps later this year -- maybe not in the middle of summer when it's rainy season, but later this year."

"That's the desire they have as well," Rubio said of Haitian leaders.

Rubio praised contributions by Canada and Japan to support the anti-gang force but said the United States was still seeking more from donor nations.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has been ravaged by years of intersecting security, political and health crises.