Panama canal

Here is a picture of Môle St. Nicholas in Haiti as a strategic location as potential US naval base to protect Canal of Panama.

Ex-President Florvil Hyppolite, eager to have the might of the United States behind him during a trying period, began to have negotiations with Admiral Bancroft Gherardi, a negotiator appointed to represent US President, Benjamin Harrison, to talk about the US's acquisition of Môle St. Nicholas as a US naval base for the Panama Canal. At that period, the elevated limestone peninsula was thought to be impregnable, and the US, seeking a Caribbean site for their base, was eager to acquire the 5.5km piece of land. The deal fell through, however, as the sale would have been against the Haitian Constitution.

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Presidential palace of President Villbrum Guilluiame Sam who was assassinated

At the beginning of the 20th century, United States became increasingly concerned with the level of German activity and influence in Haiti. German businesses in Haiti dominated commerce in the entire area.

German nationals controlled over 80 percent of Haiti international commerce. They owned utilities in Cap Haitien and Port-au-Prince, wharf, railroad serving the Plain of the Cul-de-Sac. To get around Haitian law that forbid foreigners from owning land in Haiti, German men were increasingly marrying Haitian women and open businesses.

Although the sphere of U.S influence in the Caribbean started in 1898, in 1915, during the First World War, the U.S President Woodrow Wilson feared that Germany could invade Haiti and establish a military base near the Panama Canal that was built with huge U.S investment. The U.S President had right reasons to worry because then there were many Germans settlers living in Haiti who had financed the rampaging cacos with loans which were almost impossible to be repaid and they were at the mercy of the Germans to invade and restore order.

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Port Lafito is a private international multipurpose port and terminal that is under construction at 20 km outside Port-au-Prince. It is Haiti's first greenfield multipurpose Panamax port equipped with the most recent quay and terminal equipment for handling containerized and loose-bulk cargo. 'Panamax' is the term for the size limits of ships traveling through the Panama Canal as per its expansion proposal, October 2006. With an estimated project cost of $57-million and scheduled to be completed within Q4 2014, Port Lafito, a subsidiary of the Gilbert Bigio Group will offer computerized load management for vessels as per Panamax requirement, speedy customs and National Port Authority services. It will be a new gateway which will connect Haiti to the rest of the world. In May this year, Port Lafito announced that it had reached a strategic alliance with SSA Marine to manage its port and terminal operations in Haiti. SSA Marine is a subsidiary of Carrix, Inc., a Seattle, Washington based privately-held company. They have activities at more than 210 terminal facilities and intermodal rail operations, all over the world.

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The Haitian government wants to develop its port facilities to compete for business from Panama. Panama is currently expanding its canal to accommodate post-Panamax ships, larger and faster vessels.

Both the U.S. and Europe are preparing for Panamas' new vessels to be in operation by 2015.

Port Authority Director, Alix Celestin, convened a two-day conference in Pétionville to motivate private investors to create a maritime industry, beneficial to the economy and competitive in attracting more business from Panama.

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