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Hindustan Times
7 days 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.
Economist
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Economist
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.
Express Tribune
24-04-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Dominican Republic deports pregnant women and children to Haiti amid border clampdown
Listen to article The Dominican Republic has deported dozens of Haitian women — many of them pregnant or with newborns — along with children, as part of its sweeping immigration enforcement targeting undocumented migrants. Dominican authorities said 135 women and children were detained on Monday and transported to a migration holding centre before being returned to Haiti, a country beset by escalating gang violence and political instability. The mass deportations coincided with the enforcement of a contentious immigration policy introduced by Dominican President Luis Abinader, which mandates staff at National Health Service (SNS) hospitals to collect patients' identification, employment documentation, and proof of residency for verification by immigration officials present at the hospitals. According to officials, 33 public hospitals implementing the new rule. Authorities said deportations were carried out humanely, with medical checks conducted before the women and children were placed on buses. Health and human rights groups have condemned the measure, saying it threatens access to care. The Dominican Medical Association warned the policy could endanger lives, especially those of people seeking urgent medical attention. Amnesty International said the new rule could dissuade vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women and children, from seeking help. 'This puts people's right to health, privacy, and physical safety at risk,' it said in a statement. The Dominican government ensure that no one will be denied for medical treatment, regardless of immigration status. But critics say the threat of deportation may already be deterring people from seeking care. Over the past six months, more than 180,000 people have been deported from the Dominican Republic to Haiti, where humanitarian conditions are worsening. Hospitals, schools, and essential services in Haiti are collapsing under pressure from rampant gang violence. One of the country's major health facilities, the University Hospital of Mirebalais, was recently evacuated after armed groups attacked the surrounding town. UN envoy María Isabel Salvador warned this week that Haiti is 'approaching the point of no return.' She called for urgent international support to avoid what she described as an impending societal collapse.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Haiti could face 'total chaos' without more international support, UN envoy warns
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The top U.N. official in Haiti sounded an alarm to the U.N. Security Council on Monday that escalating gang violence is liable to lead the Caribbean nation to 'a point of no return.' María Isabel Salvador warned that 'Haiti could face total chaos' without increased funding and support for the operation of the Kenya-led multinational force helping Haiti's police to tackle the gangs' expanding violence into areas beyond the capital, Port-Au-Prince. Most recently, she said, gangs seized the city of Mirebalais in central Haiti and during the attack over 500 prisoners were freed. It was the fifth prison break in under a year, 'part of a deliberate effort to entrench dominance, dismantle institutions and instill fear.' Haiti's police, supported by the armed forces and the Kenya-led force, were overwhelmed by the scale and duration of the violence, the U.N. special representative said.. The gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and are now estimated to control 85% of the capital and are moving into surrounding areas. Haiti has not had a president since then. The U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police arrived in Haiti last year to help local authorities quell gang violence, but the mission remains understaffed and underfunded, with only about 40% of the 2,500 personnel originally envisioned. Salvador said that in February and March alone, 1,086 people were killed and 383 injured. In addition, according to the U.N. migration office, over 60,000 Haitians were displaced in the past two months, adding to 1 million already displaced by December. 'These figures are expected to rise,' she said. Earlier this month, the leader of Haiti's transitional presidential council, Fritz Alphonse Jean, tried to allay surging alarm among Haitians over the rampant gang violence by acknowledging that the country has 'become hell for everyone.' He promised new measures to stop the bloodshed. But Salvador, who heads the U.N. political mission in the country, said the Haitian government's efforts alone will be insufficient to significantly reduce the intensity of the violence perpetrated by criminal groups. In February, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he would ask the Security Council to authorize funding for the structural and logistical expenses of the Kenya-led mission from the U.N. budget. But there are no signs that the 15-member council plans to address this request any time soon. 'Without timely, decisive and concrete international assistance, the security situation in Haiti may not change,' Salvador warned. 'Haiti could face total chaos." Kenya's national security adviser, Monica Juma, told the council in a video briefing from Nairobi that the force has entered 'a decisive phase of its operation' where gangs are coordinating operations and attacking people and strategic installations, and targeting the political establishment. While the Haitian police and the multinational force have launched intensive anti-gang operations and achieved some notable progress, especially in securing critical infrastructure, she said a significant gap exists. Juma said 261 Kenyan police officers are trained and ready to deploy to Haiti, but they can't get there because of a lack of equipment and logistical support. She urged the council to take a 'more assertive and proactive role' in helping to stabilize Haiti, saying time is of the essence. Juma said critical to stabilizing the country is stopping the flow of guns and ammunition to the gangs and implementing sanctions against gang leaders. U.N. experts say most arms come from the United States, specifically the Miami area.
San Francisco Chronicle
21-04-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Haiti could face 'total chaos' without more international support, UN envoy warns
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The top U.N. official in Haiti sounded an alarm to the U.N. Security Council on Monday that escalating gang violence is liable to lead the Caribbean nation to 'a point of no return.' María Isabel Salvador warned that 'Haiti could face total chaos' without increased funding and support for the operation of the Kenya-led multinational force helping Haiti's police to tackle the gangs' expanding violence into areas beyond the capital, Port-Au-Prince. Most recently, she said, gangs seized the city of Mirebalais in central Haiti and during the attack over 500 prisoners were freed. It was the fifth prison break in under a year, 'part of a deliberate effort to entrench dominance, dismantle institutions and instill fear.' Haiti's police, supported by the armed forces and the Kenya-led force, were overwhelmed by the scale and duration of the violence, the U.N. special representative said.. The gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and are now estimated to control 85% of the capital and are moving into surrounding areas. Haiti has not had a president since then. The U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police arrived in Haiti last year to help local authorities quell gang violence, but the mission remains understaffed and underfunded, with only about 40% of the 2,500 personnel originally envisioned. Salvador said that in February and March alone, 1,086 people were killed and 383 injured. In addition, according to the U.N. migration office, over 60,000 Haitians were displaced in the past two months, adding to 1 million already displaced by December. 'These figures are expected to rise,' she said. Earlier this month, the leader of Haiti's transitional presidential council, Fritz Alphonse Jean, tried to allay surging alarm among Haitians over the rampant gang violence by acknowledging that the country has 'become hell for everyone.' He promised new measures to stop the bloodshed. But Salvador, who heads the U.N. political mission in the country, said the Haitian government's efforts alone will be insufficient to significantly reduce the intensity of the violence perpetrated by criminal groups. In February, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he would ask the Security Council to authorize funding for the structural and logistical expenses of the Kenya-led mission from the U.N. budget. But there are no signs that the 15-member council plans to address this request any time soon. 'Without timely, decisive and concrete international assistance, the security situation in Haiti may not change,' Salvador warned. 'Haiti could face total chaos." Kenya's national security adviser, Monica Juma, told the council in a video briefing from Nairobi that the force has entered 'a decisive phase of its operation' where gangs are coordinating operations and attacking people and strategic installations, and targeting the political establishment. While the Haitian police and the multinational force have launched intensive anti-gang operations and achieved some notable progress, especially in securing critical infrastructure, she said a significant gap exists. Juma said 261 Kenyan police officers are trained and ready to deploy to Haiti, but they can't get there because of a lack of equipment and logistical support. She urged the council to take a 'more assertive and proactive role' in helping to stabilize Haiti, saying time is of the essence. Juma said critical to stabilizing the country is stopping the flow of guns and ammunition to the gangs and implementing sanctions against gang leaders. U.N. experts say most arms come from the United States, specifically the Miami area.
