Americas press review
In the spotlight: Port-au-Prince in the hell of the gangs
A parent carrying their child after picking him up from school, walks past police as they conduct an operation against gangs in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 3, 2023. AP - Odelyn Joseph
Text by: Stefanie Schüler Follow
6 mins
Advertisement
Read more
The inhabitants of the Haitian capital spent another sleepless night.
On social networks, many of them share recordings of heavy shooting.
After a relative calm, Sunday morning, the violence resumed "
with even more intensity at the end of the afternoon
", reports
Alterpresse
.
In several neighborhoods in downtown Port-au-Prince, such as Nazon or Solino, entire families are "
lying on the ground
"
to avoid stray bullets.
"
A resident of Delams says that on returning home to the crackling of gunfire around 7 p.m., he met many people who had to flee their homes.
An unknown number of families have left their homes to take refuge elsewhere, in places less exposed to attacks by criminal gangs.
But, are there really places less exposed to armed gangs today in Haiti
?
asks Alterpresse.
"
Today, the capital of Haiti is 100% controlled by armed gangs
," notes Marie Rosy Auguste Ducéna, of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH).
From now on, even neighborhoods hitherto rather spared are attacked by armed gangs.
Like the "
affluent neighborhood Fort Jaques, on the heights of Port-au-Prince
" where gang members set fire to a police station before climbing onto the roofs of buildings and shooting at the houses against low, reports Jacqueline Charles of the
Miami Herald
.
► To read also: Port-au-Prince overwhelmed by its gangs
: "
I had the reflex to run under fire
"
How can this new outbreak of violence be explained?
In the last quarter of 2022, the violence committed by armed groups had initially decreased.
This is what Gédéon Jean, who heads the human rights analysis and research center in Haiti, points out.
This was just after the sanctions imposed by Canada and the United States against Haitian political and economic figures, accused of financing and arming the gangs.
But this relative calm was only short-lived.
Since the beginning of the year, gang abuses have increased "
exponentially
".
There are several reasons for this, explains Gédéon Jean, who heads the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights.
There is the political conjuncture, but not only:
Since the gangs receive funding from certain sectors that are now targeted by the sanctions, the gangs lose a significant part of their financial resources
”, underlines Gédéon Jean.
“
So the increase in violence and kidnapping could be a way for them to make up for that shortfall.
A second reason could be the struggle
[between rival gangs, Editor's note]
to conquer territories
”.
However, two weeks ago, the carnival was able to be held in the heart of Port-au-Prince without major security problems.
"
The carnival was able to take place simply because these armed gangs are controlled
," said Marie Rosy Auguste Ducéna of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH).
“
It is violence that is controlled insofar as it serves the interests of a certain group
”.
► To read also: Haiti
: agricultural production in Artibonite threatened by gangs
The inhabitants of the capital feel abandoned by the police
The testimonies of residents of Port-au-Prince report the absence of police in the streets.
“
The police have decided not to work the usual hours because they require adequate means to be able to confront the armed gangs.
It started in January with an event in the Artibonite department
,” recalls Marie Rosy Auguste Ducéna.
"
Seven police officers were murdered by armed bandits.
Their bodies could never be recovered by the police institution.
And since then, there is this feeling of revolt within the police institution.
The management of the institution failed to make the police understand that they could not abandon the streets.
So, today, there are actually fewer and fewer police officers on the streets.
Whether in Port-au-Prince or in provincial towns
”.
In January alone, 18 police officers were killed in Haiti.
Le Nouvelliste: “
The bandits have free rein
”
Meanwhile, the gangs extend their grip.
Or as Le Nouvelliste
put it
this weekend: “
The bandits have free rein
”.
In addition to the problem of the displaced, there is access to food and drinking water for a literally besieged population, underlines
Alterpresse
.
Not to mention the fact that several schools will again keep their doors closed from today.
Several students and school staff were kidnapped last week", announces
Le National
. "
The most serious thing is that faced with this huge humanitarian problem in Haiti, the international community is indifferent and hesitates to play its role in the search for a viable solution
“, criticizes the Dominican newspaper
Diario Libre
.
► To read also: Vast military operation against gangs in the capital of El Salvador
Gédéon Jean: "
We need men on the ground
"
“
Gangs are gaining ground.
They get stronger.
So, the more time we lose, the more difficult it will be for the Haitian police to restore order
,” Gédéon Jean also points out.
"
Today, the international must take the necessary decision.
I am speaking in particular of France, the United States and Canada, which are the first to decide on the situation in Haiti.
So they have a responsibility to restore security.
And I take up this sentence from Emmanuel Macron: "security is above all a question of means and not of postures".
We need men on the ground, an international force to accompany the police to carry out operations.
And not promises and conferences.
If we think of the people of Cité Soleil, Martissant, Artibonite, who are suffering, the women who are raped, the girls who are raped, the people who are subjected to kidnappings and inhuman and degrading treatment... If we really think about all that,
sure we don't need exploratory visits.
The population puts its priority on the table
: it's security
!
»
The UN also sounded the alarm in a new
report
released late last week: "
If the situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate and its security institutions disintegrate, a significant international response will be required, including large-scale emergency assistance and a stabilization or peace support operation
,” it read.
► Also to listen: Gangs and power in Haiti, the story of a dangerous affair
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Extend your reading on the same topics
Newspaper
Americas press review
Haiti