EPA
NOS News•
In Haiti, police officers have started rioting themselves. They rebelled because fourteen of their colleagues have already been killed by criminal gangs this year.
In the capital Port-au-Prince, more than 100 plainclothes officers took to the streets. They blocked roads, set fire to tires, tore down security cameras and vandalized vehicles.
According to local media, some also managed to break through the gates of Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s residence. Seeing that he was not at home, they went to the airport to wait for him. After Henry was forced to spend hours at the airport, he was able to return to his home in Port-au-Prince. He was chased by an angry mob, reports Reuters news agency.
Boos
The agents are angry because they are no match for gangs that control more than half of the Haitian capital. Just last week, four police officers near the capital were killed by the Vitelhomme gang, while on Wednesday seven officers were killed in gunfights with another gang.
A human rights group says 78 police officers have been killed since Prime Minister Henry took power in July 2021. “The Prime Minister and the Chief of National Police are responsible for each of the 78 lives lost in the line of duty,” the organization said in a statement.
Americans
It has been unsettled in Haiti for some time due to gang violence. Yesterday, the government of the Bahamas advised its citizens, including diplomatic personnel, to leave Haiti. It would be too dangerous.
The Americans sent police personnel to Haiti last October to support the authorities. US Deputy Secretary of State Brian Nichols said yesterday that his country will do everything it can to “punish those responsible for this horrific violence”.
