Canada’s National Defense said in a statement that the deployment will aid Ottawa’s “maritime situational awareness” while bolstering efforts to maintain peace and security in Haiti.

The prime minister announced the deployment Thursday while in Nassau, The Bahamas, for the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, which he said the situation in Haiti was one of the main topics of discussion.

“Violent armed gangs are using murder, rape, kidnapping and more to terrorize vulnerable Haitians. Endemic corruption has created a climate of impunity that is fueling instability,” he said during a press conference.

“And we will continue to be there to provide assistance in the best ways possible.”

The warships, he said during a meeting of CARICOM, will conduct surveillance, gather intelligence and maintain a Maritime presence.

Canada also committed $12.3 million to address food and water instability, the reproductive needs of women and girls, prevent and respond to gender-based violence and sanitation and hygiene to address and prevent cholera in the nation.

Another $1.8 million was announced to strengthen border and maritime security to fight human trafficking and the flow of drugs and weapons.

Three additional Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protect armored vehicles purchased by Haiti will also be delivered in the coming days to support the national police’s efforts to confront gang violence, marking Ottawa’s third such delivery in less than half a year.

Canada also blacklisted two more Haitians on accusations of providing financial or operational support to gangs, for a total of 15 people it has sanctioned over connections to gangs since November.

Gang violence in Haiti has grown in recent years but exploded following the brazen assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 23, 2021.

In January, a report from the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti said gang violence has reached levels “not seen in decades” as armed groups “sought to expand their influence into neighborhoods of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area that were considered relatively safe until recently.”

“Turf battles between gangs have displaced tens of thousands of people in Port-au-Prince, with most of the affected living in spontaneous internally displaced persons sites,” the report said.

“These, too, have become hotspots for violence crime, further challenging the capacity of the already overstretched national police.”

A report published last week from the United Nations about Cite Soleil, which is on the outskirts of the Haitian capital, states incidents of murder, gang rape and sniper attacks have turned it into “a living nightmare.”

Between July 8 and Dec. 31, 263 murders in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cite Soleil were documented along with at least 57 gang rapes of women and girls.

The United States on Thursday also announced visa restrictions against five people and seven of their family members under a policy that targets those involved in the operation of street gangs and criminal organizations. Since October, the United States has imposed Haiti-related visa restrictions against 44 people.

The announcement comes after the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday arrested four men in Florida connected to Moise’s assassination.

The United States has so far arrested and charged 11 people with the assassination.