A powerful Haitian gang leader sends threatening message to political leaders taking part in a planned transition council as fires break out in the Caribbean nation’s capital amid a new upsurge in violence. uttered.
Neighboring countries have tightened border security and withdrawn embassy staff, while plans to deploy long-awaited international security forces remain unclear.
The capital Port-au-Prince was initially quiet after unpopular Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced on Monday that he would resign as soon as a council was formed, but as of late Wednesday violence had flared up again, with gunfire erupting. It seems like it is. One neighborhood and a police academy were attacked early Thursday morning.
A fire broke out at the main prison, where prisoners were removed by armed men earlier this month.
Thick black smoke had earlier been billowing from the facility, but the fire was under control by Thursday afternoon, with local media reporting heavily armed police entering the site, which was partially blackened by piles of trash. It seemed to be quiet.
Reuters could not immediately say whether anyone remained in the prison or what caused the fire.
The police union said the house of national police chief Franz Elbe was also set on fire on Thursday.
He did not give details about whether anyone was injured or where Hervé was.
Haiti is struggling to resolve a long-running political and humanitarian crisis.
Heavily armed gangs have taken over much of the capital, and human rights groups have reported widespread killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate.
Henry was not elected, but was appointed prime minister by President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, just before Moïse was assassinated.
Henry repeatedly postponed elections.
The comments from Jimmy “Barbecue” Cheridier, head of the gang federation, were recorded on Wednesday and distributed as a rambling seven-minute audio message, which was widely shared on the messaging platform WhatsApp on Thursday morning.
What you need to know about violence in Haiti:
“Aren’t you ashamed?” Chéridier said, addressing the politician who said he was considering joining the council. “You brought this country to where it is today. You never know what’s going to happen,” he added.
“I know if your children are in Haiti, if your wife is in Haiti, and if your husband is in Haiti,” he said in an apparent threat against his family. “If you’re going to rule the country, your whole family should be there.”
In his speech, Chéridier said Henry’s resignation was just the “first step in the fight” for the island nation of about 11 million people.
Haiti’s government has extended its curfew again until Sunday in an order signed by Acting Prime Minister Michel Boisvert.
Henry has been stranded overseas since attempting to return from a trip to Kenya to secure support for a security mission.
Regional bloc CARICOM has revealed details of the political parties and other social sectors that will make up the nine-member transition council that will succeed Mr Henry.
Negotiations over the board have been brokered by Caribbean leaders and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but formal appointments have not yet been made.
One party leader on Wednesday rejected the offer of a voting member of the council and instead gave power to former coup leader Guy Philippe, who was recently imprisoned in the United States and is seeking a pardon. Supported the Transition Council. For gang leaders.
Embassy reduction
With Haiti’s political future in limbo and the timing of a long-delayed Kenya-led security mission uncertain, Haiti’s already tenuous international presence is further set back.
Canada announced a reduction in its embassy staff, leaving only essential staff in the country and temporarily closing its embassy to the public.
This follows similar cuts by the United Nations and US embassies.
The country’s main cargo port said it would not accept ships until further notice, despite military reinforcements, as it assessed damage to containers and infrastructure.
Royal Caribbean Group, a major cruise line company, also suspended regular visits to Labadee, a private resort in northern Haiti, for a week.
Concerned about instability in the region, the United Kingdom, like the U.S. governor of Florida, said it was strengthening security in its overseas territory, the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispanoria with Haiti, closed its shared border with Haiti last year and regularly deports Haitians.
“Irregular migration flows through the Caribbean Sea remain low at this time,” the U.S. Southeast Coast Guard said.
Dominican media reported that aviation authorities at a press conference rejected a UN statement that claimed an air bridge would be set up from the country to bring humanitarian aid to Haiti and that the airspace would remain closed.
Aid group Mercy Corps says Port-au-Prince residents have become “forced nomads,” seeking refuge from gunfire with family members and strangers in temporary shelters, facing constant anxiety, food shortages, trauma, disease and overcrowding. He said he was fighting.
Marie Love Elsien, 25, who lost her home and business to gangs, told Mercy Corps that she is most scared for her young daughter. she jumps and screams.
“She cries constantly and no one can touch her. She becomes hysterical and uncontrollable,” she said.
According to United Nations estimates, more than 360,000 people are internally displaced in Haiti.
Gina Antoine, 43, a pregnant mother of three, told Mercy Corps that she was so exhausted from traveling between neighborhoods that she could no longer run.
“Every day we face inhumane conditions walking among corpses. Gangs could attack at any time,” she said. “I don’t have anywhere else to go. I hope everything gets back to normal.”
