Haiti’s national police carried out a series of operations in Port-au-Prince this weekend against an armed group led by Jimmy “Barbeque” Chélisier who is plotting to take control of the country after forcing Prime Minister Ariel Henry into exile.
operation reportedly On Friday, police removed barricades near Delmas, the capital of Haiti. Late Saturday evening, police swarmed the gang-controlled Delmas neighborhood and clashed with men from Cherizier’s gang, leading to a shootout. Police reportedly killed an unspecified number of gang members and seized weapons in the clashes. It is unclear whether Cheridier was in the Delmas area at the time of the surgery.
“In recent days, the police have been implementing new strategies aimed at retrieving certain areas occupied by armed groups in order to facilitate the free movement of peaceful citizens.” the statement said. read.
The Haitian National Police is considered one of the last functioning institutions of the Haitian state after Chélisier and his gang seized control of the country and forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry to make an announcement last week: Resign.
Police continue to battle gangs that are more like organized armed militias than small gangs of young men for control of Port-au-Prince’s streets. Gangs are now believed to control at least 80% of the city, leading to widespread crime. report Murder, kidnapping, sexual violence.
Source from Haitian Police Said CNN announced Monday that it has begun relying on a local anti-gang vigilante movement known as Bwa Kale (a slang term for street justice) that has surged in 2023.
“We are constantly receiving threats. They say they will come and attack us and destroy the neighborhood. So we block the roads and the police conduct searches. They search the cars. There are no civilians involved,” an anonymous Bwa Kale member told CNN, adding that the group was only armed with “machetes and bare hands.”
The announcement was made by Finance Minister Michel-Patrick Boisvert, who currently serves as caretaker prime minister. statement On March 14, he ordered police to use “all legal means at their disposal” to enforce the curfew imposed on March 7. Extended Until Monday, March 20th.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell compared the current chaotic situation in Haiti to a scene from a 1979 movie. mad max in interview Provided to CBS News on Sunday.
“To be honest, it looks like gangs, vigilante groups responding to gangs. So in order to have a humane response, we somehow need to have more control over that situation,” Russell said. Told. “And, you know, this population has suffered from one thing after another over the years: earthquakes, cholera, COVID-19. I mean, it’s literally one thing after another for Haiti, and at this point, here… I think this is the worst situation in decades.”
On Saturday, gangs attacked Port-au-Prince’s main port. plunder The UNICEF containers were loaded with “necessities for the survival of mothers, newborns and children,” as well as water supplies and other types of supplies.
Children line up to receive a plate of food at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Oderin Joseph/Associated Press)
“Depriving children of vital medical supplies at a time when the health system is collapsing is a violation of their rights,” Bruno Maes, UNICEF’s representative in Haiti, said in a statement. “This incident occurred at a critical moment when children needed it most.”
“Looting of essential supplies for life-saving assistance to children must be stopped immediately and humanitarian access must be kept safe,” he continued.
UNICEF warned that hospitals in Port-au-Prince had been destroyed and forced to close due to safety concerns, with only two functioning surgical facilities available as of the weekend. UNICEF claimed that six out of 10 hospitals across the country were not functioning due to lack of electricity, fuel and medical supplies.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
