As the CARICOM community of Caribbean states had also reported, Ariel Henri resigned as Prime Minister of Haiti. A seven-member presidential council is now being set up for the transitional period leading up to the election, which has appointed a new caretaker prime minister, Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfan Ali said after a meeting of Caribbean heads of state in Jamaica. Henri’s resignation had been demanded by the powerful criminal gangs that control much of Haiti and almost all of Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital. And so they managed to achieve one of their goals.
“Criminals have taken over the country. There is no government,” Barat Jagdeo, Guyana’s vice president, said before the extraordinary CARICOM conference.
For days now, members of these gangs have been attacking state institutions, such as police stations, government buildings and prisons. According to reports, there are bodies in the streets – and thousands of people are trying to flee to other parts of the country. The wider capital region is under a state of emergency and a night-time curfew has been imposed while the police are away. According to the U.N. 80% of the capital was under gang control as early as last year. Fearing the developments, Germany, the EU, the USA and other states decided to withdraw their diplomatic staff from the country.
The situation is out of control
It had long been apparent that the situation would escalate – at least since February 7, the day chosen for the inauguration of the new government. But Henry did not hold an election. On the contrary, at the end of February he simply announced the start of a new transition period for the country that would last until August 2025. And indeed he did this from Guyana, in the context of a CARICOM conference, and not from Port-au-Prince, which caused even greater reactions. From there he then traveled to Kenya – and since March 5 he has been in Puerto Rico.
During Henri’s absence the situation worsened significantly: in early March gang members raided two prisons helping 4,500 prisoners escape.
At the same time, gangs that were once at war have now come together: nine different gangs have formed the single alliance “G9 Family and Allies” led by Jimmy Sergier, also known as “Barbecue” – an ex-cop who is now considered one of the de facto stronger people in Haiti. Speaking to a journalist from the “New Yorker” magazine, Cerizier stated that his role models are, among others, Fidel Castro and Malcolm X. “I also like Martin Luther King, but he didn’t want to fight with weapons, while I do.”
The historical background
The former French colony of Haiti is located in the western third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola – to the east is the Dominican Republic. Most of the population of the two island states originates from the west coast of Africa, from where the colonists kidnapped and enslaved the people they then transported to Hispaniola.
In the late 18th century the slaves revolted and the revolution eventually led to Haiti’s independence from France in 1804. But since then there have been many periods of violence and instability as the various ethnic groups battled for supremacy in the country.
Since the mid-20th century the dictator François Duvalier has advocated the weakening of the country’s ethnically mixed elite in favor of the black majority population. During his reign, gangs that acted in a ruthless and violent manner were also strengthened and managed to establish themselves as powerful entities with great power.
Another key event was the devastating earthquake of 2010, which killed hundreds of thousands of people: the weak state was unable to cope with its effects – and as a result gangs expanded their activities and power beyond traditionally controlled.
The discontent of the population was constantly growing. When in 2019 President Jovenel Moise was accused of corruption, the reactions were strong. Because of the protests, the planned elections were never held and Moise increasingly ruled by decree – and in July 2021 he was assassinated by unknown assailants.
Since then, Henri has ruled as caretaker prime minister and president of Haiti. Since Moise’s unsolved murder, public order is under even greater pressure, with Henri turning to the international community: in October 2023, the UN Security Council decided to send an international security force under the leadership of Kenya.
Difficulties in the UN operation
Kenyan President William Ruto had proposed sending up to 1,000 security men months before the UN Security Council decision. But these were not soldiers, but police officers – and observers in Nairobi doubt whether their training and equipment are adequate for the battle against Haiti’s sometimes heavily armed gangs.
But as a Kenyan court ruled in January, the national security council is only allowed to send soldiers abroad – not police. Nevertheless, the court also left a loophole open, clarifying that a police mission can be allowed if there is a specific relevant mission agreement with the other state. Henry traveled to Nairobi with the aim of signing just such an agreement. But the Kenyan opposition filed a new lawsuit challenging the legality of a police mission.
In addition, there are problems regarding the financing of the mission. The US government wanted to contribute up to 200 million dollars, but in view of the US presidential elections next November it is not certain that the Republicans will support this intention in the Congress. And therefore it is still open how the international community will respond to Haiti’s call for help.
Source: DW
#Haiti #Chaos
