Haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cheridier on Thursday blackmailed Violence against family members of members of the Biden administration’s “transition council” to select an interim prime minister.
“Aren’t you ashamed? You put this country where it is today. You have no idea what will happen,” Chéridier said in an audio message posted on social media Thursday morning, adding that the proposed transitional council has indicated that he sees himself as simply an extension of the corrupt Haitian ruling elite.
“I know if your children are in Haiti, if your wife is in Haiti, … if your husband is in Haiti,” he said threateningly.
Mr. Chéridier softened the threat somewhat by suggesting that anyone who wants to govern Haiti should live there. “If you’re going to rule the country, your whole family should be there,” he grumbled.
The gang boss applauded. announcedadded that Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation has not yet been carried out, but that even Henry’s ouster is only a “first step in the fight” for Haiti’s future.
After two days of relative calm, gang violence flared up again on Thursday, with reports of an attack on a police academy and a fire at the national prison in Port-au-Prince, where gangs come and go. attacked And two weeks ago, most of the prisoners were gone.
Residents walk past national police officers guarding the empty National Penitentiary after a small fire broke out inside the prison in downtown Port-au-Prince, Thursday, March 14, 2024. This is the same prison that was attacked by an armed group late on March 2nd. And hundreds of prisoners escaped. (Oderin Joseph/Associated Press)
Heavily armed police entered the state prison on Thursday afternoon and appeared to have successfully extinguished the fire, although the cause and extent of the fire have not been made public.
police union representatives Said On Thursday, the home of Haitian National Police (HNP) Chief Franz Herbe was also set on fire.Italian news agency Agenzia Nova report Armed men ransacked the house and set it on fire, but Hervé and his family had already left the premises fearing for their safety.
Haiti’s new police chief Franz Hervé speaks during a press conference in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, November 9, 2021 (Matthias Delacroix, File/AP)
Mr. Hervé is one of the officials included in the list of supporters of Ariel Henry who have been targeted for violence published by Chéridier.Cherizier Said This week, he plans to arrest Mr. Hervé and other officials and put them on some kind of gang trial. He warned his men that anyone harboring officials on the enemy list would be dealt with harshly.
“We are not in a peaceful revolution. We are having a bloody revolution in this country because this regime is an apartheid regime, an evil regime,” Chéridier said in threatening. Told.
A transition plan brokered by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Caricom group of Caribbean nations appeared to be in disarray Friday as several key Haitian leaders joined in. withdrew Their support included former rebel and gangster-friendly politician Guy Philippe.
“CARICOM’s decision is not our decision. Haitians will decide who will govern Haiti,” Philippe said Thursday.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) report Regarding further rejection of migration plans:
Other prominent Haitian politicians refused to join the proposed transitional council. Among them was Himmler Lev, a former Haitian army colonel and leader of the Great Rally for the Evolution of Haiti, part of the coalition that won a seat on the transitional council.
He said in a statement that his party wants judges from Haiti’s Supreme Court to take the reins of power.
Mr Lev added that the party was “ashamed and angry” to see “the pursuit of positions of power that do not take into account the responsibilities imposed on themselves”.
A plan to send 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti, a long-discussed but never-fulfilled plan, was again frustrated this week by an announcement by the Kenyan government. announced This is the latest in a series of long-term “suspensions” of plans sparked by a court ruling that President William Ruto did not have the constitutional authority to send police to other countries.
africa news report On Thursday, a majority of Kenyans announced they opposed the proposed intervention and were relieved that a court had blocked Ruto’s efforts to send her son and husband to bloody and chaotic Haiti.
Ramek Ochieng, a Nairobi resident, said he was not surprised by the court’s decision. “Our children who were going to be killed outside (in Haiti) are now safe,” he said.
“As Kenyans, this is a situation we have seen before, and even the courts have ruled against it (deploying Kenyan police to Haiti). But the outcome was not so scary. Maybe it was because we knew it was something that would never be achieved.”
“Haiti doesn’t have a government, there’s no organization, so that’s not recommended. For example, if our government really cared about its people, it wouldn’t think of doing something like that (sending Kenyan police to Haiti). I wouldn’t,” said student Rose Wanjiku.
Congressional Republicans Hold On Tuesday, he accused the Biden administration of lacking both a coherent plan and transparency in how the money would be used for $40 million in funding for a proposed but still non-existent Multinational Intervention Force in Haiti.
said House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Senate Foreign Relations Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho).
Haiti’s human suffering and deepening crisis are tragic. But this afternoon, after years of discussion, repeated requests for information, and partial funding to support the plan, the administration finally released a rough plan for dealing with this crisis. They sent it to us. I don’t know yet if it’s “reliable and workable”.
Anonymous State Department Official complained He told Reuters on Friday that interdiction of funds was “critical” to the deployment of Kenyan police to Haiti. However, as mentioned above, the Kenyan Supreme Court had already halted that plan, and the suspension had nothing to do with the US funding.
royal caribbean cruise line Said Thursday Cruise visits to Haiti’s Labadee resort peninsula have been canceled for at least a week due to the worsening security situation.
“The safety and security of our customers, crew and the communities we visit is our top priority.” Cruise company representative Said.
Royal Caribbean said it is “closely monitoring the evolving situation in Haiti” and will notify customers daily if the suspension is extended. The stop in Labadee has been replaced with a stop in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the travel agency said.
