The U.S. is the principal financial backer of a Kenya-led international security force the United Nations has ratified be sent to Haiti to help its police battle armed gangs that have plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis.
A group of armed men working under gang leader Jimmy "Barbeque" Cherizier ambushed a patrol from the police's anti-gang unit in the Delmas 18 neighbourhood on Sunday and set it on fire.
Harrowing scenes played out as the tiny, Caribbean country continued to wait for the establishment of a promised transitional government meant to restore stability.