The most severe humanitarian crisis in the Americas has taken yet another dramatic turn after Haiti’s most powerful gang boss took to the streets to call for an armed uprising to overthrow the country’s unpopular prime minister.

The government’s failure to halt the bloodshed has spawned a vigilante movement called “Bwa Kale” that has seen citizens rise up against the gangs with machetes, rocks and guns.

One senior US diplomat recently told the Miami Herald that US officials had been “circling the globe” in search of countries willing to take part in that effort, although most are reluctant because of the dangers involved.

The intervention appeared to move a step closer this week when Kenya’s president, William Ruto, announced his country would be “the leading nation in the UN-backed security mission in Haiti”.

“We are committed to deploying a specialized team to comprehensively assess the situation and formulate actionable strategies that will lead to long-term solutions,” Ruto said during a meeting with Ariel Henry on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the US president, Joe Biden, told the UN general assembly: “The people of Haiti cannot wait much longer.” Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg said the US could ask the UN security council to greenlight the mission as early as next week.

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