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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Killer gangs are inches from ruling all of Haiti
The collapse of Haiti's government in April last year was a challenge but also an opportunity. An interim government called the Transitional Presidential Council was installed. A UN-brokered, Kenyan-led security mission arrived soon after. But a year later things are worse than ever. 'We are approaching a point of no return,' María Isabel Salvador, the UN's top official in Haiti, told its Security Council at a meeting on April 21st. Tasked with preparing for elections that in theory will be held in November, the council is now mired in allegations of corruption. The security force of around 1,000 people (less than half the number originally planned) has not been able to stem the chaos. Its funding runs out in September. The council is a 'transitional authority that controls nothing', says Claude Joseph, a former prime minister. 'It's an unsustainable catastrophe. We could lose Port-au-Prince at any time.' Port-au-Prince, the capital, now sees daily gun battles in which police and civilian vigilantes face off against a gang coalition called Viv Ansanm ('Living Together'). It has seized control of much of the city. The international airport has been all but shut down; the only way in or out is by helicopter, or by a barge that skirts the coast to bypass gang territory to the south. On May 2nd the United States designated Viv Ansanm and a sister organisation as terrorist groups, opening the door to tougher criminal penalties for those who provide them with money and weapons. The collapse of public life is accelerating. Most schools are shut. Cholera is spreading. The Marriott, one of the last functioning hotels, has closed its doors. Gangs have surrounded the offices of Digicel, Haiti's main cellular network, through which most people connect to the internet. 'If Digicel goes down, the country goes dark,' warns a security expert. The gangs don't need it. Increasingly sophisticated, they use Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system to communicate, organising themselves to the extent that they have been able to keep control over access to Haiti's ports. They also extort lorry drivers and bus operators moving along many of the country's main roads. The UN reports that in February and March more than 1,000 people were killed and 60,000 displaced, adding to the 1m, nearly 10% of the population, who have fled their homes in the past two years. Circulating videos show gang members playing football with severed heads, bragging: 'We got the dogs.' Central Haiti, once relatively peaceful, is fragmenting into fiefs. Mirebalais, a city which lies between Port-au-Prince and the border with the Dominican Republic, is now controlled by gangs. 'The country has become a criminal enterprise. It's the wild, wild West,' says a foreign official. Patience is running thin at the UN Security Council. The United States has already committed $600m to the security mission, but is unlikely to offer more. 'America cannot continue shouldering such a significant financial burden,' said Dorothy Shea, the US ambassador to the UN. Few other countries want to donate. The Transitional Presidential Council is so desperate that it is exploring deals with private military contractors. It has been talking to Osprey Global Solutions, a firm based in North Carolina. The founder of Blackwater, Erik Prince, visited Haiti in April to negotiate contracts to provide attack drones and training for an anti-gang task force. The council declined to comment. The Haitian police are overwhelmed; an estimated 12,000 officers police a population that approaches 12m, barely half the UN-recommended ratio. Weak leadership, poor co-ordination with the Kenyan-led force, and calls for the ousting of the police chief point to deep institutional rot. In Canapé-Vert, one of Port-au-Prince's last gang-free pockets, a former policeman known as 'Commander Samuel' leads a vigilante group called Du Sang 9 ('New Blood' in Creole). Gangs have thinned its numbers. It is all that stands between them and the prime minister's office. Clarification (June 3rd 2025): Paragraph eight of this article has been amended to make clear that the council exploring deals is the Transitional Presidential Council. Sign up to El Boletín, our subscriber-only newsletter on Latin America, to understand the forces shaping a fascinating and complex region. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
TimesLIVE
23-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Haiti calls for urgent regional gang-fighting support as US shies off funding
Top Haitian ministers called for urgent security support from neighbours at a meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) on Thursday, while the US signalled it would not continue funding aimed at holding back the nation's armed gangs. Powerful gangs, armed with guns the UN believes are trafficked largely from the US and across the land border with the Dominican Republic, have taken control of most of the capital and expanded to the central plateau and agricultural heartlands, displacing more than a million people. 'While we remain determined to assist the Haitian people achieve the peace, security and prosperity they deserve, the US cannot continue shouldering such a significant financial burden,' US Caribbean affairs deputy assistant secretary Barbara Feinstein said at the meeting. The US has cut much overseas aid and frozen some funding it earlier pledged to support a UN-backed mission in Haiti, and earlier this week secretary of state Marco Rubio suggested the OAS should play a greater role in supporting Haiti's security, such as mobilising a force. 'The OAS is uniquely positioned not only as a forum for diplomacy but as a vehicle for co-ordinated, concrete action,' Feinstein added. A handful of countries have pledged troops to the mission, but only a fraction of these have deployed. The Kenyan-led force remains under-resourced and has had little success in helping police hold off gangs' advances in and beyond the capital. OAS special adviser Jared Genser recommended that unless the mission is proven capable of providing security for Haitians, the UN Security Council should vote to convert it to a formal peacekeeping mission — a measure repeatedly requested by Haitian leaders but opposed by veto members China and Russia. Haitian defence minister Jean-Michel Moise said the situation was being fuelled by gangs profiting off cocaine trafficking from Colombia to buyer nations and arms trafficking from the US by sea and across the Dominican border. 'This criminal economy fuels a local war machine. Haiti is on the brink of being fully controlled by criminal gangs and we cannot allow that to happen. We desperately need the help of the international community,' he said. Haiti counts about 12,000 police and 1,000 military officers for a population of nearly 12-million, officials said. Moise also called for restrictions — including some based on implications in human rights abuses — on selling arms to Haiti's government to be eased, citing gangs' easy access to militarised weapons.
Daily Maverick
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Haiti calls for urgent regional gang-fighting support as US shies off funding
Top Haitian ministers called for urgent security support from neighbors at a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Thursday, while the U.S. signaled it would not continue current funding aimed at holding back the nation's armed gangs. Powerful gangs, armed with guns the U.N. believes are trafficked largely from the United States and across the land border with the Dominican Republic, have taken control of most of the capital and expanded to the central plateau and agricultural heartlands, displacing over 1 million people. 'While we remain determined to assist the Haitian people achieve the peace, security and prosperity they deserve, the United States cannot continue shouldering such a significant financial burden,' U.S. Caribbean Affairs deputy assistant secretary Barbara Feinstein said at the meeting. The U.S. has cut much overseas aid and frozen some funding it earlier pledged to support a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti, and earlier this week Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that OAS should play a greater role in supporting Haiti's security, such as mobilizing a force. 'The OAS is uniquely positioned not only as a forum for diplomacy, but as a vehicle for coordinated, concrete action,' Feinstein added. A handful of countries have pledged troops to the mission, but only a fraction of these have deployed. The Kenyan-led force remains under-resourced and has had little success in helping police hold off gangs' advances in and beyond the capital. OAS special advisor Jared Genser recommended that unless the mission is proven capable of providing security for Haitians, the U.N. Security Council should vote to convert it to a formal peacekeeping mission – a measure repeatedly requested by Haitian leaders but opposed by veto members China and Russia. Haitian Defense Minister Jean-Michel Moise said the situation was being fueled by gangs profiting off cocaine trafficking from Colombia to buyer nations and arms trafficking from the United States by sea and across the Dominican border. 'This criminal economy fuels a local war machine,' he said. 'Haiti is on the brink of being fully controlled by criminal gangs and we cannot allow that to happen. We desperately need the help of the international community.' Haiti counts about 12,000 police and 1,000 military officers for a population of nearly 12 million, officials said. Moise also called for restrictions – including some based on implications in human rights abuses – on selling arms to Haiti's government to be eased, citing gangs' easy access to militarized weapons.
AsiaOne
23-05-2025
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Haiti calls for urgent regional gang-fighting support as US shies off funding , World News
Top Haitian ministers called for urgent security support from neighbours at a meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) on Thursday (May 22), while the US signalled it would not continue current funding aimed at holding back the nation's armed gangs. Powerful gangs, armed with guns the UN believes are trafficked largely from the United States and across the land border with the Dominican Republic, have taken control of most of the capital and expanded to the central plateau and agricultural heartlands, displacing over one million people. "While we remain determined to assist the Haitian people achieve the peace, security and prosperity they deserve, the United States cannot continue shouldering such a significant financial burden," US Caribbean Affairs deputy assistant secretary Barbara Feinstein said at the meeting. The US has cut much overseas aid and frozen some funding it earlier pledged to support a UN-backed mission in Haiti, and earlier this week Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that OAS should play a greater role in supporting Haiti's security, such as mobilising a force. "The OAS is uniquely positioned not only as a forum for diplomacy, but as a vehicle for coordinated, concrete action," Feinstein added. A handful of countries have pledged troops to the mission, but only a fraction of these have deployed. The Kenyan-led force remains under-resourced and has had little success in helping police hold off gangs' advances in and beyond the capital. OAS special advisor Jared Genser recommended that unless the mission is proven capable of providing security for Haitians, the UN Security Council should vote to convert it to a formal peacekeeping mission — a measure repeatedly requested by Haitian leaders but opposed by veto members China and Russia. Haitian Defence Minister Jean-Michel Moise said the situation was being fuelled by gangs profiting off cocaine trafficking from Colombia to buyer nations and arms trafficking from the United States by sea and across the Dominican border. "This criminal economy fuels a local war machine," he said. "Haiti is on the brink of being fully controlled by criminal gangs and we cannot allow that to happen. We desperately need the help of the international community." Haiti counts about 12,000 police and 1,000 military officers for a population of nearly 12 million, officials said. Moise also called for restrictions — including some based on implications in human rights abuses — on selling arms to Haiti's government to be eased, citing gangs' easy access to militarised weapons. [[nid:716350]]
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Haiti calls for urgent regional gang-fighting support as US shies off funding
FILE PHOTO: A man holds placards as he yells toward a patrol car near a burning barricade during a protest against gang-related violence and to demand the resignation of Haiti's transitional presidential council, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Jean Feguens Regala/File Photo Top Haitian ministers called for urgent security support from neighbors at a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Thursday, while the U.S. signaled it would not continue current funding aimed at holding back the nation's armed gangs. Powerful gangs, armed with guns the U.N. believes are trafficked largely from the United States and across the land border with the Dominican Republic, have taken control of most of the capital and expanded to the central plateau and agricultural heartlands, displacing over 1 million people. "While we remain determined to assist the Haitian people achieve the peace, security and prosperity they deserve, the United States cannot continue shouldering such a significant financial burden," U.S. Caribbean Affairs deputy assistant secretary Barbara Feinstein said at the meeting. The U.S. has cut much overseas aid and frozen some funding it earlier pledged to support a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti, and earlier this week Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that OAS should play a greater role in supporting Haiti's security, such as mobilizing a force. "The OAS is uniquely positioned not only as a forum for diplomacy, but as a vehicle for coordinated, concrete action," Feinstein added. A handful of countries have pledged troops to the mission, but only a fraction of these have deployed. The Kenyan-led force remains under-resourced and has had little success in helping police hold off gangs' advances in and beyond the capital. OAS special advisor Jared Genser recommended that unless the mission is proven capable of providing security for Haitians, the U.N. Security Council should vote to convert it to a formal peacekeeping mission - a measure repeatedly requested by Haitian leaders but opposed by veto members China and Russia. Haitian Defense Minister Jean-Michel Moise said the situation was being fueled by gangs profiting off cocaine trafficking from Colombia to buyer nations and arms trafficking from the United States by sea and across the Dominican border. "This criminal economy fuels a local war machine," he said. "Haiti is on the brink of being fully controlled by criminal gangs and we cannot allow that to happen. We desperately need the help of the international community." Haiti counts about 12,000 police and 1,000 military officers for a population of nearly 12 million, officials said. Moise also called for restrictions - including some based on implications in human rights abuses - on selling arms to Haiti's government to be eased, citing gangs' easy access to militarized weapons. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
