Snapshot: The ‘failed’ direct of Haiti in 2024 | About That

Haiti has been hollowed out it has no functioning Parliament there's not a single democratically elected government official in the entire country and the appointed acting president took Refuge hundreds of kilometers away in Puerto Rico unable to return home because the airport is under siege Haiti's streets have been engulfed in violence for 2.

Days with heavy gunfire reported near the International Airport planes were damaged flights cancelled and even if Ariel HRI did find his way back into the country he'd probably be killed by the gang leader demanding he hand over the keys to the Country police stations have been attacked businesses and schools have.

Been closed and a prison break saw thousands released from custody into the streets por Bron's streets looked like a w Zone all because one gang leader was fed up with the Haiti government we don't have a home to live in we don't have food to eat that's what they're shouting many here now fear their country is on the brink of exploding.

Does it feel safe right now no no doesn't the headline that probably caught your attention on this story was about the prison break two major Prison Breaks to mass Prison Breaks Prison Breaks the actually two of them this blue and white building is the prison deou it's a high security prison where local human rights groups say about.

1,400 inmates were being held according to government figures more than a thousand escaped but at a much bigger prison Haiti's National penitentiary in the capital Porto PR 3700 inmates Broke Free that's almost all of them heavily armed gangs carried out a massive coordinated attack wanting to to free the prisoners at all costs the.

Government says their whereabouts are unclear uh but uh rumors and some indications are showing that there some of them are hiding downtown uh in gangster hubs and others have fled out in in the country what was left a prison eerily empty no guards in sight plastic furniture and clothing strewn across the concrete patio Haiti declared a state of.

Emergency and imposed a curfew on its people the fear that gang members and Escape prisoners wouldn't stop there that they wanted Vengeance against judges lawyers police residents in Haiti's Capital PTO pron woke up to loud blasts and gunshots a wave of panic swept through Haitians as they scrambled to save their lives the US advised.

Citizens to leave the country Canada temporarily closed its Embassy this the situation is really deteriorating by the day since these five days of attacks by The Gangs against State institutions if they continue to coordinate and to and to mount this this coordinated attacks in the capital they could seize a well the the remaining.

Territories that they don't control in the capital part of what has made Haitian police powerless to keep criminal gangs in check is how well armed they have become so this nearly 50 page report last year from the UN it's a real eyeopener into how illicit weapons get.

Smuggled in from the United States mainly they're from Florida handguns AK-47s AR-15s sniper rifles even belt-fed machine guns they're hidden inside consumer products electronic equipment garment linings frozen food items or even the hulls of freighter according to one report these weapons have completely transformed the.

Ecosystem of violence and it means Haitian police are simply outgunned well the Haitian National police force is not equipped it does not have the intervention material required no drones no armored vehicles with battering rams you know to knock down barricades set up by gangs they have no protective equipment for special intervention and.

Population protection Brigade that should have at least 1,000 police officers equipped with shields and Ball istic helmets weapons and ammunition adapted you know to to gangs that are very well trained in in in in the use of weapons one of the most influential gang leaders in the country is this man Jimmy Sherer also known as barbecue I ask all.

The gangs to mobilize take to the streets he's a former police officer now leading a kind of gang Federation ation several gangs that have joined forces and have been perpetuating these attacks and what do these gangs want I think that maybe we're witnessing a turning point in the Dynamics of gang violence in Haiti as rival gangs who until now.

Had been fighting each other for the control of the capital appeared to be joining forces to bring the the Haitian government to his kns if it's true that Hades gangs have only gotten stronger over time it is equally true that the government has gotten weaker Haiti is already a filled State we do know that corruption is.

Endemic in this country this criminal regime is unacceptable to assasians that Dynamic uh where you have a large swas population that been totally abandoned by the state uh produces exactly this kind of violence exactly this kind of instability and exactly this kind of sort of political instability specifically where is the elected.

President now dead Haiti's president joenel mois has been assassinated at his home in Porter Prince Colombian mercenaries paid by whom unknown broke into the home of jovenel Miz late at night unverified video shows the early morning chaos unfolding in the street they beat him severely before riddling his body with bullets he apparently.

Tried to call police none arrived in time of the six bodyguards on duty that night Haitian police say two were in on the assassination the other four didn't put up a fight that was in 2021 now over two weeks since that assassination and after days of political uncertainty Ariel HRI is officially the head of government Ariel HRI the Prime Minister.

Took up the job but he's widely seen as illegitimate failing to deliver the elections he promised years ago most recently a week ago he's tried to pacify his critics saying okay elections by August of next year 2025 but shortly after that announcement the complete collapse of civil society that I've just outlined for you everything is disrupted.

There's no uh work is not functioning normally there's no school banks are closed uh you know you can barely go to your Supermarket their inability to live right and and to just go about their daily life has extraordinary like I said at the start Haiti is in an important way currently a country without a leader AI left last.

Week to Kenya to secure an agreement to have that country send police officers to Haiti A desperate play to restore order yesterday Kenyan President William rutu said he met with Asian prime minister Ariel H and that they discussed the way forward in FASTT tracking the deployment of Kenyan policemen in it Kenya has previously signaled a.

Willingness to send up to a thousand officers but this latest deal there are no hard numbers that I know of no firm deployment date either and more broadly there is a great International reluctance to get too deeply embroiled in what is very literally a war zone some world leaders have called for Audi to resign which he refuses to do the.

United States says merely that he should put some sort of transition in motion an election as soon as possible but an election does not make a democracy right and I think the lesson from from ha's recent history illustrates that quite clearly restoring order seems a long way off and as usual it's the people of Haiti Stuck In The Middle With nowhere.

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