The Brazilian contingent of the United Nations Security Council ended its 13-year-long peacekeeping mission in Haiti on Thursday (August 31) with a ceremony honouring the 37,000 soldiers who have served in the Caribbean nation and the 25 who died while there.

The peacekeeping mission, one of the longest running in the world and known as MINUSTAH, has been dogged by controversies, including the introduction of cholera to the island and sexual abuse claims.

U.N. peacekeepers were deployed to Haiti in 2004 when a rebellion led to the ouster and exile of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It is the only U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Americas and currently led by Brazil.

Sandra Honore, Head of U.N. stabilisation mission in Haiti, said, “The United Nations, and I’m sure the Haitian people also, are very grateful for the key role that Brazil played in the efforts to create long-lasting stability here along with troops from a total of 24 countries across the world who participated in MINUSTAH since its creation, including troops from Latin American countries that traditionally made up the majority of troops.”

On his part, Brazil’s Defence Minister, Raul Kingmann, “Twenty-five contingents passed through here, more than 37,000 soldiers passed through here but 25 of them did not return to their homes. I think, in honour to them and all the other (armed) forces who participated in this peace mission, a minute of silence in their memory, in their honour.”

The $346 million mission will be replaced with a smaller police, which would be drawn down after two years as the country boosts its own force. The new mission will be established for an initial six months, from October 16, 2017 to April 15, 2018, and is projected to exit two years after its establishment.