All posts tagged: gang violence in Haiti

Haiti’s transitional council to elect new president Tuesday

Haiti’s transitional council to elect new president Tuesday

Published by skeptic

Haiti’s seven-member transitional council will vote for the country’s next president Tuesday, a week after it formally assumed power in the chaotic Caribbean nation. The vote is the next step in efforts to restore stability and order in Haiti, which has been plagued by gang violence since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. The island plunged further into instability after a plane carrying then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry was forced to land in the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico when it was denied entry into the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Henry had departed Haiti the week before on a mission to the South American nation of Guyana and the east African nation of Kenya to gain support for the deployment of a multinational United Nations peacekeeping force to Haiti. The gangs used Henry’s absence to attack the National Penitentiary and another prison in Port-au-Prince, killing several people and allowing thousands of inmates to escape into the city. Gangs also staged shooting attacks on Haiti’s main airport. Henry was …

Gangs Target Suburbs in New Round of Attacks on Haiti’s Capital

Gangs Target Suburbs in New Round of Attacks on Haiti’s Capital

Published by skeptic

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti —  Armed gangs launched new attacks in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince early Wednesday, with heavy gunfire echoing across once-peaceful communities near the Haitian capital. Associated Press journalists reported seeing at least five bodies in and around the suburbs, and gangs blocked the entrances to some areas. People in the communities under fire called radio stations pleading for help from Haiti’s national police force, which remains understaffed and outmatched by the gangs. Among the communities targeted in the pre-dawn hours were Pétion-Ville, Meyotte, Diègue and Métivier. “When I woke up to go to work, I found I could not leave because the neighborhood was in the hands of the bandits,” said Samuel Orelus. “They were about 30 men with heavy weapons. If the neighborhood had mobilized, we could have destroyed them, but they were heavily armed, and there was nothing we could do.” By Wednesday afternoon, another victim had been reported: a police officer killed in broad daylight in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood known as Delmas 72, according to the SYNAPOHA police union. As the …

First Charter Flight With US Citizens Fleeing Haiti Lands in Miami

First Charter Flight With US Citizens Fleeing Haiti Lands in Miami

Published by skeptic

MIAMI —  A charter flight carrying dozens of U.S. citizens fleeing spiraling gang violence in Haiti landed Sunday in Miami, U.S. State Department officials said. More than 30 U.S. citizens were on the government-chartered flight, officials said in a statement. It arrived in the Miami International Airport after the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince earlier this month urged U.S. citizens to leave “as soon as possible” as chaos grips Haiti. Haiti’s main airport in Port-au-Prince remains closed following gang attacks that have raged through Haiti for weeks, pushing many people to the brink of famine. Government and aid agencies this weekend reported looting of aid supplies as the situation worsened. The State Department announced Saturday that it would offer limited charter flights for American citizens from the less chaotic northern city of Cap-Haïtien. Officials said they could not provide ground transportation to Cap-Haïtien and that U.S. citizens should consider the charter flights “only if you think you can reach Cap-Haïtien airport safely.” “We encourage U.S. citizens still in Haiti who seek to depart to contact the …

Politicians Seek New Alliances To Lead Haiti

Politicians Seek New Alliances To Lead Haiti

Published by skeptic

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti —  Haitian politicians started pursuing new alliances Wednesday, seeking a coalition that could lead the country out of the gang violence that has fueled lawlessness, closed the main airport and prevented embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning home. Haiti remained largely paralyzed, with schools and businesses still closed amid heavy gunfire blamed on the gangs that control an estimated 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where several bodies lay on empty streets. The country’s two biggest prisons were also raided, resulting in the release of more than 4,000 inmates over the weekend. Henry faces increasing pressure to resign, which would likely trigger a U.S.-supported transition to a new government. One new political alliance involves former rebel leader Guy Philippe and ex-presidential candidate and senator Moïse Jean Charles, who told Radio Caraïbes on Wednesday that they signed a deal to form a three-person council to lead Haiti. Philippe, a key figure in the 2004 rebellion that ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, returned to Haiti in November and has been calling for Henry’s resignation. He …