The country of Haiti has announced a state of emergency lasting three days, along with a curfew at night, after armed gangs took control of the two largest prisons. This action resulted in over 3,000 dangerous criminals, including murderers and kidnappers, escaping onto the streets of the impoverished and violence-prone Caribbean nation.
The finance minister, Patrick Boisvert, is currently overseeing the government while prime minister, Ariel Henry, is out of the country attempting to gain support for a UN-backed security force to bring stability to Haiti. Boisvert stated that the police will utilize all available legal methods to re-capture the escaped prisoners and enforce the curfew.
Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who now runs a gang federation, has claimed responsibility for the surge in attacks. He said the goal was to capture Haiti’s police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry’s return.
After a violent weekend that escalated the ongoing violence in Haiti, an emergency decree was declared. As a result, the United States has urged its citizens to depart “as soon as possible” and Canada has temporarily shut down its embassy.
Since Thursday, at least nine individuals have lost their lives, including four law enforcement officials. The targets of the attacks have ranged from police stations to the nation’s airport and even the national football stadium, where one staff member was held captive for several hours.
The United Nations has estimated that approximately 15,000 individuals were compelled to leave their homes due to the conflicts that occurred between Thursday and Saturday. This includes those who were previously residing in temporary shelters, such as schools, hospitals, and public areas in Port-au-Prince.
However, despite being a nation that is used to living under the constant danger of violence, the assault on the national penitentiary in Port-au-Prince on Saturday was still incredibly startling.
Almost all of the estimated 4,000 inmates escaped, leaving the normally overcrowded prison eerily empty on Sunday with no guards in sight and plastic sandals, clothing and furniture strewn across the concrete patio. Three bodies with gunshot wounds lay at the prison entrance.
In a different area, two deceased men with bound hands were found lying face down. Local residents passed by roadblocks made of burning tires.
There was uncertainty regarding the number of escaped prisoners, but according to Arnel Remy, a lawyer advocating for human rights at a non-profit organization situated within the national prison, less than 100 of the approximately 4,000 inmates were still incarcerated at the time of the incident on X day.
“I am the sole remaining prisoner in my cell,” an unnamed inmate informed Reuters.
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According to insider sources, a vast majority of inmates are believed to have escaped from the penitentiary, which is designed to accommodate 700 prisoners but was housing 3,687 as of February of last year according to the RNDDH human rights organization.
A journalist quoted by the BBC reported that approximately 4,000 men held there had escaped, according to sources.
On a Saturday evening, a group of 18 ex-military members from Colombia, who were allegedly involved in the assassination of former Haitian president Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, made a video begging for their safety.
“Please, we desperately need assistance,” urged Francisco Uribe in a widely circulated post on social media. “People are being senselessly murdered inside the prison cells.”
Another prison in Port-au-Prince, housing around 1,400 inmates, was also taken over by the masses.
There were multiple reports of gunfire in several neighborhoods on Saturday evening, indicating a widespread occurrence of violence.
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The internet service for numerous residents was disrupted when a major mobile network in Haiti reported damage to a fibre optic cable during an attack. However, the connection was successfully repaired by field teams on Sunday afternoon.
In less than two weeks, a number of state institutions have been assaulted by organized gangs, who are now working more closely together and attacking unexpected places like the central bank.
After Moise’s murder, Henry became the prime minister and has continuously deferred plans for both parliamentary and presidential elections, which have not occurred in almost ten years.
Last week, the prime minister, who is also a neurosurgeon, made bilateral agreements with Kenya’s president, William Ruto, in an attempt to rescue the implementation of deploying Kenyan police officers to Haiti.
During the month of January, the Kenyan high court deemed the deployment to be unconstitutional due to the absence of reciprocal agreements in the initial deal between the two nations. Despite calls for his resignation, Henry has ignored them and refrained from giving a statement when questioned about his safety in returning home.
According to the UN, Haiti has a total of approximately 9,000 officers in its national police force. However, this number proves inadequate in protecting the population of over 11 million people, as the police are often undermanned and outmatched by the numerous gangs operating in the country. These gangs are believed to have control over as much as 80% of the capital.
Following a shooting by gangs at Haiti’s international airport in recent days, the US embassy has announced a suspension of all official trips to the nation. On Sunday evening, it advised all American citizens to leave the area at their earliest convenience.
The Biden administration is keeping a close eye on the worsening security situation in Haiti and has provided financial assistance and logistical aid, but has not agreed to deploy troops as a part of any international coalition.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric emphasized the urgency for member nations to act swiftly in providing support and deploying the multinational security force, given the recent escalation in violence.
“I have been discussing for several months the dire situation facing civilians in Haiti, particularly those in Port-au-Prince who are essentially confined by ongoing gang violence,” he informed journalists at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. “Schools are shut down, hospitals are unable to operate, and the local population endures daily hardships.”
In the beginning of the year, the United Nations reported that over 300,000 individuals were forced to leave their residences because of the escalating gang warfare, resulting in nearly 5,000 fatalities in the previous year.
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This report was contributed to by the Associated Press and Reuters.
Source: theguardian.com
