Irish business ties to Haiti could be key to securing release of kidnapped missionary Gena Heraty
Significant Irish business connections in Haiti may be the key to securing the Irish missionary's release, sources have told
The Journal.
There are extensive Irish interests in the region. There is also a significant presence of Irish security personnel who are working for commercial enterprises.
Some of those working in the area are former members of the Irish Defence Forces and others have worked for other State agencies – they are joined by other international colleagues working in security operations.
A security source said that these ties may provide the answer to resolving the kidnapping such is the extent of their presence in the area.
The Journal
has reported
extensively on the horror in Port au Prince
and across the Caribbean state.
One security source in the Caribbean and Latin America region said there has been a large increase in kidnappings as it is seen as an easy earner for the gang members who are now believed to control 90% of Port au Prince and its surrounds.
Irish diplomacy has a small footprint in the region and their diplomatic efforts are largely handled through the United Nations in New York. There is no Irish consulate in Port au Prince.
It is understood that an Emergency Consular Assistance Team (ECAT) has not been stood up by the Department of Foreign Affairs. ECAT teams – generally made up of experienced diplomats and Defence Forces members such as the Army Ranger Wing – are sometimes sent in to trouble spots to provide emergency evacuations of Irish citizens, and can also be deployed in hostage situations.
Instead the Department of Foreign Affairs is anticipated to use the Irish connections with a strong base in the area to make contact with the gangs and to find a way to free Gena Heraty.
Societal collapse
Port au Prince is the size of Dublin with 1.2 million people living there and most are in desperate need of humanitarian help.
There has been a collapse in Haitian society in recent years
as gangs seek to take over the impoverished island nation.
Reports from Haiti have said that there
is widespread violence
which includes systematic sexual violence against, children and adult women and men.
A Kenyan deployment last year of hundreds of police officers to Haiti in a US-funded and UN-backed mission to help local law enforcement secure the country has struggled to make progress.
A file image of children with their faces covered marching alongside gang boss 'Barbecue' in Port-au- Prince, Haiti.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
'Barbecue' and Viv Ansanm
There are multiple gangs but the largest, Viv Ansanm, came about through an alliance between the two main factions operating in Port-au-Prince, G-9 and G-Pèp.
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Last month the UN Security Council was told by
Ghada Fathi Waly
, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), that 90% of Port au Prince was in control of the gangs.
'As gang control expands, the state's capacity to govern is rapidly shrinking, with social, economic and security implications.
This erosion of state legitimacy has cascading effects,' Waly told the UN.
The key issue is that these gangs control major trade routes and are able to turn off the supply of food and other humanitarian supplies.
Kidnapping
Gena Heraty was abducted along with seven others, including a three-year-old child, from the Sainte-Hélène orphanage in Kenscoff, Haiti, over the weekend.
The incident saw gang leaders in the early hours of the morning breaking down a wall into her compound and seizing her and her colleagues. It not her first time being the victim of conflict in the area and Gena previously was injured in an attack.
Kenscoff is located 10 kilometres to the south of the capital Port au Prince – this area of the country is controlled by Viv Ansanm.
While there has been no official confirmation, multiple security sources in Haiti told
The Journal
that they believe it is Viv Ansanm that has taken Gena Heraty.
The gang is run by a notorious Haitian war lord and former police officer Jimmy Chérizier – ominously known as 'Barbeque'. His goal is to take over the country and run it as his own state.
Viv Ansanm has rifles and heavy weaponry supplied by Florida based weapons dealers – this has been confirmed by the markings on seized firearms.
Jimmy Cherizier, aka Barbecue with masked gunmen in Port au Prince.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Looting of aid convoys
The United Nations has said that the gang members, some of whom are armed children, have been participating in looting of aid convoys, hospitals and pharmacies.
They have also been fighting pitched battles with Government and Kenyan forces – taking over largescale infrastructure such as the port and roads to the airport.
The most horrific attacks have been perpetrated on the Haitian population, with mass killings against locals common as gangs move through communities.
News agency AFP said the kidnapped Irishwoman, originally from Co Mayo, made connection by phone with her French based charity at the Sainte-Helene orphanage after being abducted. The facility is operated by humanitarian organisation Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs (Our Little Brothers and Sisters).
That charity is headquartered in the eastern suburbs of the French capital Paris.
Security sources said that this may lead to military involvement from French military special forces but noted that a mission would not be without significant risk both for the commandos carrying out the rescue and the hostages.
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