Haiti police raid gang leader's stronghold in capital
The authorities say several gang members have been killed in the Lower Delmas area of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Local reports say military drones carrying explosives are being used in the operation.
Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé praised the assault. He said it was the work of a special task force created two days ago to tackle insecurity.
Chérizier, aged 47, is the feared leader of Viv Ansam (Live Together), a coalition of gangs that control much of the city.
It is not clear whether Kenyan police officers deployed in Haiti last year to help fight the gangs are involved in the security operation.
Last week, a Kenyan police officer - who was on patrol with the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission - was killed in a confrontation with gang members.
The men fighting gang leader Barbecue for power in Haiti
On patrol with Kenyan forces inside Haiti's gang warzone
Gang control in Port-au-Prince has led to an almost complete breakdown of law and order, the collapse of health services and emergence of a food security crisis.
More than 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence in the Caribbean nation in 2024 and more than a million people have fled their homes.
Haiti's transitional presidential council, the body created to re-establish democratic order, has made little progress towards organising long-delayed elections.
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Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
The other bills keeping lawmakers up at night
DRIVING THE DAY: Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers today in Los Angeles rallied behind their campaign for a ballot measure asking voters to allow political gerrymandering to counter a Donald Trump-led GOP effort in Texas. Lawmakers are expected to approve a package containing the initiative next week. More on that below. NEGOTIATING TACTICS: Even as redistricting consumes Sacramento, state lawmakers have been working behind the scenes to push their other big bills through the final weeks of session. Lawmakers return Monday after using the four-week break to negotiate with their colleagues, lobbyists and Gov. Gavin Newsom's office. Legislation around ICE agents' use of masks, rideshare unionizing, antisemitism in schools, cap and trade and affordable housing funding remains in play. Here are the latest developments on legislation that saw a good deal of action during lawmakers' time away. Cap and trade: Before the redistricting push, extending the state's carbon auction system was poised to dominate the end of the session. And it's still one of the heaviest political lifts on the Legislature's docket. Business interests such as CalChamber that once opposed creating a system in which emitters can purchase and trade a capped number of carbon credits are now backing a 'clean' reauthorization — in which the system would continue functioning as it does now. But environmental groups are lobbying for changes including changing how auction proceeds are spent, eliminating free allowances that keep major polluters' costs down and putting emissions caps on individual facilities'. The slow pace of negotiations — the Assembly and Senate aren't yet on the same page with weeks to go — has fueled speculation that the program may not be renewed until next year. But talks are in for a serious jolt Wednesday, the date of the state's next carbon auction. With the cap-and-trade system still set to expire in 2030, emitters have been bidding less on carbon credits, leaving state lawmakers with less revenue to put toward climate and transit programs. The pain of dwindling revenue could speed discussions along as California faces the prospect of multi-billion dollar deficits in the coming years. Housing bucks: As we reported earlier this week, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks' $10 billion housing bond hasn't made much progress in the Senate after advancing from the Assembly. Wicks told Playbook she's having 'ongoing conversations with a lot of different folks' about the measure, which would go before voters in 2026. The assemblymember said she's still negotiating the final dollar figure and where the money will go, although there's 'widespread support' for asking voters to set aside most of the funding for multifamily housing, especially subsidized units for low-income Californians. Masking up: Proponents of state Sen. Scott Wiener's proposal to ban the use of identity-concealing masks by ICE and other law enforcement agencies are still trying to soften opposition from powerful state and local police and sheriffs' groups. Wiener said they've 'tried to constructively engage' on the legislation, although he's not sure whether he can get the law enforcement lobby to neutral 'while still producing a strong bill that puts a stop to extreme masking.' The senator needs the groups to temper their opposition if he wants to win over skeptical moderate Democrats and secure the two-thirds vote required to put the legislation in place right away. He can also try to pass the bill by a simple majority vote, though it wouldn't take effect until January. 'If we can get a two-thirds vote with a strong bill, that's absolutely the path we'll take,' Wiener said. 'If getting a two-thirds vote means we damage the bill, then I would rather have a strong bill take effect Jan. 1, than a weakened bill take effect immediately.' The bill is part of a larger slate of immigration legislation lawmakers hoped to take up quickly after the recess, although the redistricting package will likely cause some delays. Refineries: Newsom's proposal to increase California's crude extraction made the rounds during recess and is gaining traction with lawmakers scared of a spike in gas prices if they don't avoid more refinery closures. Even state Sen. Henry Stern, a climate hawk, has said more drilling in Kern County is necessary to stabilize in-state fuel supply. But environmentalists are bristling at Newsom's 'drill one new well, plug two old ones' proposal, which they say could open up drilling statewide. The oil and gas industry, meanwhile, isn't too fond of some of the other measures in the draft legislation, which would ban fracking and increase safety oversight related to offshore drilling. Wildfire fund: Newsom has also proposed reupping the state's wildfire liability fund, meant to prevent utilities from going bankrupt when their equipment sparks wildfires, with a $9 billion extension of a surcharge on ratepayer bills (and $9 billion from shareholders). There's a sense of urgency: Southern California Edison alone could drain the fund with its potential liability from the Eaton Fire, leaving nothing to cover any new utility-sparked wildfires that emerge during the upcoming months, which are typically the most dangerous for wildfires. The proposal is a bitter political pill, however, during a year supposed to deliver on affordability. Ride-hailing benefits: Labor leaders backing Wicks' and Assemblymember Marc Berman's bid to guarantee Uber and Lyft drivers can organize for better pay and benefits have yet to find common ground with the ride-hailing companies. SEIU and labor allies want to keep existing language that would require the companies to recognize bargaining groups formed by drivers (who are classified as 'independent contractors' thanks to Prop 22, an industry-funded ballot measure voters approved in 2020). Uber and Lyft are open to benefits packages for drivers, but they're fiercely opposed to full-fledged organizing rights, which they see as a clear attempt at circumventing Prop 22. The two sides met for talks over recess, three people familiar with the conversations told Playbook. An agreement that provides drivers with some benefits isn't out of the question yet, though there aren't any clear signs a deal is imminent. 'Until drivers have a union, they will not have a seat at the table,' SEIU Executive Director Tia Orr told Playbook. Antisemitism debate: Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire has gotten deeply involved in trying to save a proposal aiming to address antisemitism in schools. The bill hit an impasse heading into the recess, with legislative leadership agreeing to delay a measure that would penalize schools that create antisemitic learning environments and restrict what they teach about the Israel-Gaza conflict. The proposal faces fierce opposition from the California Teachers Association, school administrators and progressive groups that claim it is overly punitive, censors criticism of Israel and creates standards that do not exist for other active conflicts. But it is the Legislative Jewish Caucus' only priority bill this year, and McGuire pledged to pass it before the end of session. Negotiations are continuing between the teachers' union, legislative ethnic caucuses and Jewish advocates as proponents try to address broad concerns that include complaint procedures and how antisemitism is defined. Dueling charter bills: Lawmakers backing competing measures aimed at increasing oversight of non-traditional charter schools are continuing to hash out a compromise, meeting regularly over the recess. Assembly Education Chair Al Muratsuchi's union-backed AB 84 seeks sweeping regulations on non-classroom charters, but was pared down before the break as charter schools pushed state Sen. Angelique Ashby's SB 414, which would implement fewer restrictions. Charter school advocates have been lobbying lawmakers over recess to chip away at Muratsuchi's broad proposal, specifically around an effort to require credentialed employees to approve funding for enrichment activities. The bill currently calls for increased auditing and financial reporting requirements and would create a new Office of the Education Inspector General. Ashby said in a committee hearing that she would reject a final measure that is 'so punitive that all charter schools take a haircut.' — with help from Eric He, Emily Schultheis, Tyler Katzenberger, Blake Jones, Camille von Kaenel and Alex Nieves IT'S THURSDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY OFF AND RUNNING: California's leading politicians and its most prominent labor unions put on a show of unity today as they gathered to launch a campaign for a new House map, our Jeremy B. White and Emily Schultheis report. 'We can't stand back and watch this democracy disappear, district by district, all across this country,' Newsom said. 'We need to stand up. Not just California: Other states need to stand up.' The themes of that likely special election came into focus today: Rally attendees spoke at a podium emblazoned with an 'Election Rigging Response Act' sign and held 'defend democracy' placards. Details also emerged about the campaign's backers. A newly unveiled campaign website lists House Democrats' principal super PAC and Democratic megadonor Bill Bloomfield as initial funders. But victory at the ballot box is far from assured. Newsom's pollster has circulated an internal survey showing the measure starting with only a narrow majority, and polling from POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab found voters overwhelmingly support keeping the state's independent redistricting commission. (The nascent ballot measure would leave the commission in place but effectively override its work by creating new maps to boost Democrats through 2030.) CA V. TRUMP OF ALL PLACES: Border Patrol agents turned up this morning outside the downtown Los Angeles venue where Newsom and other Democrats were rallying behind the redistricting campaign and denouncing Trump. 'Right outside at this exact moment are dozens and dozens of ICE agents … people are scared,' Newsom said during the event. 'People are fearful.' A video taken by witnesses shows bystanders yelling at masked agents in military fatigues standing inside a white unmarked van. Newsom's press office shared an X post with a video showing dozens of Border Patrol agents walking around on the street alongside Sector Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, who has taken a leading role in the Los Angeles immigration crackdown. 'BORDER PATROL HAS SHOWED UP AT OUR BIG BEAUTIFUL PRESS CONFERENCE! WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED!' the post said, continuing Newsom's mocking use of Trump's trademark all-caps missives. Bovino told NBC LA that agents were conducting roving patrols and that they had taken one person into custody. The incident drew a quick response from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who showed up to the scene and answered questions from reporters. 'There's no way this was a coincidence,' she said. 'This was widely publicized that the governor and many of our other elected officials were having a press conference here to talk about redistricting, and they decided they were going to come and thumb their nose in front of the governor's face.' — with help from Melanie and Jeremy WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — Some local officials and advocates are concerned that Trump, who has appointed himself head of an Olympics task force, will take action against homeless people when Los Angeles hosts the event in 2028. (Los Angeles Times) — The Trump administration's tariff on Indian imports has led to increased prices at restaurants and grocery stores in the Bay Area. (San Francisco Chronicle) AROUND THE STATE — The Vista City Council voted to spend $3.5 million to increase annual maintenance of Wave Waterpark through 2035. (San Diego Union-Tribune) — Increased surveillance in the majority Latino neighborhood of Oak View in Huntington Beach has left residents with mixed feelings behind the city's motives. (LAist) — Some Palo Alto residents are pushing back on a plan to replace a former restaurant with an apartment building. (The Mercury News) — compiled by Juliann Ventura
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘We're not going to back down': Leaders condemn Trump's attacks on Oakland
A group of Oakland elected officials and community leaders rallied Thursday to condemn recent remarks made by President Donald Trump portraying the city as poorly run and crime-ridden, and to pledge a steadfast response to any effort to deploy federal troops there. In a series of speeches at Oakland City Hall, Mayor Barbara Lee, City Council members and others said Trump's characterization of the city was a fear-mongering tactic to target U.S. cities with majority-Black populations or those led by Black mayors. On Monday, President Trump sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., a Black-led city, and named Oakland as one of several cities where he might do the same. In June, Trump deployed more than 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration raids in Southern California. Critics said Trump's rhetoric evoked a historic pattern in which politicians have painted predominantly or historically Black cities as crime-plagued. Crime nationwide is down in the first half of the year, according to a report by the Council on Criminal Justice. 'We have other cities also that are bad. Very bad,' Trump said during a White House news conference Monday, singling out Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore and Oakland. Oakland leaders pointed to the city's notable drop in violent crime during the first half of the year, and the work they said officials were doing to revitalize the city. 'President Trump's characterization of Oakland is down-right wrong,' Lee said. 'We're not going to back down.' At Thursday's press conference, faith and community leaders joined city officials in denouncing Trump's attacks, saying Oakland's residents are resilient. 'We believe that Oakland is not on the decline, but on the rise,' said Pastor LJ Jennings of the Kingdom Builders Christian Fellowship in East Oakland. Council Member Carol Fife, who represents District Three, criticized Trump for being a convicted felon attempting to tarnish the city. Fife said the city has made progress on bringing down crime while acknowledging there was more work to do. 'If you care about law and order, you would know that the safest cities have the most resources, and those resources come in the tune of affordable housing,' Fife said. 'It comes from protecting our seniors, it comes from investing in education.' Danielle Motley-Lewis, president of the Oakland and Berkeley chapter of the Black Women Organized for Political Action group, encouraged people to share stories of the city's progress, unity and transformation.
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom calls for special November election to block Trump from ‘rigging' 2026 midterms
Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democratic lawmakers and their allies on Thursday launched a special-election campaign to ask California voters to approve new congressional districts to decrease the size of the state's Republican delegation — a move that could determine control of Congress next year and stymie President Trump's agenda. The effort is a response to GOP-led states, notably Texas, attempting to redraw their congressional maps to decrease Democratic ranks in the narrowly-divided U.S. House of Representatives at Trump's behest. Newsom, speaking to a fired-up partisan crowd at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles, said the effort by Republicans represented a desperate effort by a failed president to hold on to power by keeping Congress under Republican control. 'He doesn't play by a different set of rules. He doesn't believe in the rules,' Newsom said. 'And as a consequence, we need to disabuse ourselves of the way things have been done. It's not good enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight vigil and talk about the way the world should be. We have got to recognize the cards that have been dealt, and we have got to meet fire with fire.' The governor was joined by Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff; Rep. Pete Aguilar, (D-San Bernardino), the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and union leaders essential to providing the funding and volunteers to convince Californians to vote for the 'Election Rigging Response Act.' The proposed California ballot measure would temporarily toss out the congressional districts enacted by the state's voter-approved, independent redistricting commission. 'Our union stands in full support of this ballot initiative. We are ready to do whatever it takes to stop this power grab and fight back against any and all attacks on our democracy, on our students and on public education,' said Erica Jones, the secretary treasurer of the California Teachers Assn., which represents 310,000 public school teachers. She said school children have suffered because of the Trump administration's immigration raids, as well as cuts to healthcare funding, after school programs and teacher trainings. 'Our students deserve better,' she said. 'The majority of Americans are not with him on these vicious attacks. So what does Trump want to do? Rig the next election and steal our right to fair representation? He wants to stack the deck to keep slashing public services to pad the pockets of his billionaire donors.' Outside the political rally, Border Patrol agents gathered and arrested at least one person. Newsom told the crowd inside that he doubted it was a coincidence. Supporters of the independent commission that currently draws California's congressional maps criticized Democrats' efforts to conduct a highly unusual mid-decade redistricting plan. For Newsom's plant to work, the Democratic-led state Legislature must vote in favor of placing the measure on the ballot in a special election in November, and then the final decision will be up to California voters. 'Two wrongs do not make a right, and California shouldn't stoop to the same tactics as Texas. Instead, we should push other states to adopt our independent, non-partisan commission model across the country,' said Amy Thoma, spokesperson for the Voters First Coalition, which includes Charles Munger Jr., the son of a billionaire who bankrolled the ballot measure that created the independent commission. Munger will vigorously oppose any proposal to circumvent the independent commission, she said. Since voters approved independent congressional redistricting in 2010, California's districts have been drawn once per decade, following the U.S. Census, by a panel split between registered Democrats, registered Republicans and voters without a party preference. The commission is not allowed to consider the partisan makeup of the districts, nor protecting incumbents, but instead looks at 'communities of interest,' logical geographical boundaries and the Voting Rights Act. The current map was drawn in 2021 and went into effect for the 2022 election. Newsom is pushing to suspend those district lines and put a new map tailored to favor Democrats in front of voters on Nov. 4. That plan, he has said, would have a 'trigger,' meaning a redrawn map would not take effect unless Texas or another GOP-led state moved forward with its own. Sara Sadhwani, who served on the redistricting commission that approved the current congressional district boundaries, said that while she is deeply proud of the work she and her colleagues completed, she approved of Newsom's effort to temporarily put the commission's work aside because of the unprecedented threats to American democracy. 'These are extraordinary times, and extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,' said Sadhwani, citing the immigration raids, the encouragement of political violence and the use of National Guard troops in American cities. 'And if that wasn't enough, we are watching executive overreach that no doubt is making our founding fathers turn in their graves, and we have to take action. These are the hallmarks of a democracy in peril.' If voters approved the ballot measure, the new maps would be in effect until the independent commission redraws the congressional boundaries in 2031. To meet Newsom's ambitious deadline, the state Legislature would need to pass the ballot language by a two-thirds majority and send it to Newsom's desk by Aug. 22. The governor's office and legislative leaders are confident in their ability to meet this threshold in the state Assembly and state Senate, where Democrats have a supermajority. Newsom first mentioned the idea in mid July, meaning the whole process could be done in about five weeks. Generally, redrawing the state's electoral lines and certifying a measure to appear before voters on the ballot are processes that take months, if not more than a year. Trump's prodding of Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional maps to create five new GOP seats has kicked off redistricting battles across the nation. That includes Florida, Ohio, Indiana and Missouri, where Republicans control the statehouse, and New York, Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington, where Democrats are in power. Democratic lawmakers in Texas fled the state to block the Republican-led legislature from approving a new map that would gerrymander congressional districts to favor of the GOP. The Democrats maneuver worked, since it prevented the legislature from have a quorum necessary to approve the measure. A second special session is expected to begin Friday. The absent lawmakers are facing threats of fines, civil arrest warrants and calls for being removed from office; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to call repeated special sessions until the map is approved. In California, the gerrymandering plan taking shape behind closed doors would increase the Democratic Party's dominance in the state by making five House districts more favorable to Democrats, according to a draft map reviewed by The Times. Those changes could reduce by more than half the number of Republicans representing California in Congress. The state has the nation's largest congressional delegation, with 52 members. Nine are Republicans. A Northern California district represented by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) could shift to the south, shedding rural, conservative voters near the Oregon border and picking up left-leaning cities in Sonoma County. Sacramento-area Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) would see his district shift toward the bluer center of the city. The plan would also add more Democrats to the Central Valley district represented by Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), who has been a perennial target for Democrats. Southern California would see some of the biggest changes: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) would see his safely Republican district in San Diego County become more purple through the addition of liberal Palm Springs. And Reps. Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills) and Ken Calvert (R-Corona) would be drawn into the same district, which could force the lawmakers to run against each other. The plan would also shore up Democrats who represent swing districts, such as Reps. Dave Min (D-Irvine) and Derek Tran (D-Orange). It could also add another district in southeast Los Angeles County, in the area that elected the first Latino member of Congress from California in modern history. A similar seat was eliminated during the 2021 redistricting. Times staff writer Taryn Luna contributed to this report from Sacramento.
