Haiti gets brief gang truce but little sign of long term relief from anarchy

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Haiti's notorious gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, announced a week-long truce on Friday to let hospitals, schools and businesses stock up on food and fuel after weeks of terrorising the capital Port-au-Prince and shutting down the main fuel terminal.

It was welcome relief for residents who have dared not go out of the streets due to fear of the gang who control large parts of the city. But it may not last long as Cherizier warned in a video posted on social media that the truce would be lifted if prime minister Ariel Henry did not resign.

Meanwhile, conditions across the country continue to deteriorate to such an extent that the U.S. State Department has advised Americans in Haiti to leave while they can on commercial flights, saying the U.S. might not be able to help them depart if commercial flights become unavailable.

“Kidnapping is widespread and victims regularly include U.S. citizens,” it said.

As if on cue, American Airlines announced Friday it is cutting back service from Monday, and will no longer be operating its three daily flights to Port-au-Prince, one from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and two from Miami International Airport.

Canada also announced it is pulling all non-essential staff from its embassy in Haiti and urging Canadian travelers to leave the country, due to what is called the “rapidly deteriorating” situation in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

A Haitian National Police officer stands guard close to the gang controlled area of Morne A Tuff during the third day of a general strike and lack of transportation, amid a fuel shortage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on October 27, 2021. Crédito: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images

Who runs the country?

Gangs control large parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and are present in other cities, according to security analysts and local human rights groups. Haiti’s gangs have grown so powerful that some are beginning to question who runs the country following the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

"None of the current political actors have the moral authority, the popularity and the capacity to solve the problem. Most are part of the problem and are responsible for where we are," said a private sector businessman in a message to his staff last week. He shared the message with Univision on the condition that his identity not be revealed.

The country’s most powerful gang coalition, G9 - run by the former policeman, Cherizier - blocked access to the main fuel terminal in the capital’s port, cutting off supplies to gas stations and businesses which depend on generators.

The G9 gang is effectively blackmailing the government, demanding money - and the prime minister's resignation - in exchange for releasing the fuel. The gangs also control the main roads in and out of the capital to the north and south, effectively cutting the city off from the provinces.

"It's almost like the population is being held hostage [by the gangs] and it has no means to throw them off," said Robert Maguire, a longtime Haiti expert and former professor of International Affairs at George Washington University (GWU).

At least 328 kidnapping victims were reported to Haiti’s police in the first eight months of 2021, compared with a total of 234 for all of 2020, according to a report issued in September by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti. Other sources put the 2021 figure as high as 782 kidnappings already.

City under siege

Port-au-Prince is like “a city under siege” one local radio station reported this week. The streets are almost deserted and automatic gunfire can be heard in some gang-controlled neighborhoods.

Most schools, banks and other businesses are now open just three days a week, and hospitals have had to reduce operations due to lack of fuel.

People walk past a closed gas station in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Crédito: Matias Delacroix/AP

“Children in classrooms across urban areas are increasingly becoming targets for robbery or ransom,” UNICEF said in a statement warning about the vulnerable state of children in the country. “Gang violence is fast becoming another reason for parents not to send their children to schools,” it added.

The current crisis is the worst to hit the country since the 1990s after a military coup toppled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991, analysts say. For the next three years, until Aristide was restored to power in 1994, Haiti lived under the terror of military rule, with widespread human rights abuses, as well as crushing international economic sanctions.

Fuel crisis

“The situation in Haiti as a result of the fuel crisis is disastrous!” tweeted Maarten Boute, the CEO of Digicel Haiti, the main cellphone company. “The electrical grid went fully offline mid last week. Water supply for large parts of [Port-au-Prince] impossible due to lack of diesel for pumps. Most food plants shut down. Hospitals closing. Transportation halted.”

Only about 2-40% of Haitians have access to power through the state electricity company, EDH (L’Électricité d’Haïti) and even then, no-one receives reliable electricity service on a regular daily basis.

EDH reported only 240,000 customers, in a country with a population of about 10.5 million people, according to a study by Boston University. “Haiti’s per capita use of electricity is the lowest in the Caribbean, and one of the lowest in the world. By comparison, Haitian electricity use is only 2% of per capita levels in the neighboring Dominican Republic,” it reported.

Nearly a month after a group of 17 American and Canadian missionaries were kidnapped on the outskirts of the capital, negotiations to free the hostages drag on. The kidnappers have demanded $1 million for each hostage, Haitian officials have said. Kidnappers have provided “proof of life” of the missionaries and their families, according to police. The kidnappers have demanded $1 million for each hostage, Haitian officials have said.

On Wednesday, armed men stopped a bus carrying 52 people near the capital, killed a police officer traveling on board, and held an undetermined number of people hostage. The hostages were released on Thursday after being held overnight.

Besides the assassination of its president in July, Haiti is still reeling from a massive earthquake that shook the southeast of the country in August, killing an estimated 2,200 people and destroying thousands of homes, schools and churches.

US and immigration

The United States is providing financial assistance to Haiti, but U.S. President Joe Biden has ruled out any military intervention to help restore order.

This week, the U.S. announced it was reinstating Haitians as eligible for temporary, seasonal work in under two federal guest-worker programs, three years after the country was kicked out by the Trump administration. The H-2A and H-2B guest worker visa programs allows hotel workers and farm laborers to apply for temporary jobs in the U.S., offering salaries that most Haitians can only dream of.

The Biden administration has faced heavy criticism for its immigration policy toward Haitians and its broader hands-off policy in Haiti. In recent months the U.S. has deported 8,000 Haitian asylum seekers who tried to cross the United States southern border, hoping to escape poverty, gang violence and political instability.

Another 8,000 individuals “voluntarily” crossed back into Mexico, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The neighboring Dominican Republic has also cracked down, reinforcing its border with tropps and limiting visas.

Foreign intervention needed?

After leaving Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. officials are deeply reluctant to step into another foreign intervention, especially after previous efforts by the United States and the United Nations failed to achieve long term stability or a semblance of democracy.

Critics say the United States and the international community have a moral obligation to step in to help Haiti. "It's irresponsible not to," said Pierre Esperance, a leading human rights advocate. "They have contributed to the destruction of the country and now they are simply walking away. It's a disgrace," he added.

Instead of backing the Henry government, the United States should work more closely with civil society groups there, said Maguire, who also backs some form of international intervention to help restore security. "There are some brave and talented people there who have put their lives on the line," he said.

Others say perhaps it's time for Haiti to take charge of its own problems. "In the end, only Haitians can fix themselves. They have to get ahead," said the private sector businessman who requested anonymity.

"There will be pain, there will be blood. But we have to be adults at some point in our history," he added.

Asked about calls for U.S. intervention or support for a U.N. peacekeeping mission, the top U.S. diplomat in Haiti, Kenneth Merten, said last week, "We don't want to be accused of meddling."

Todd D. Robinson, Assistant Secretary of State for Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, right, and Kenneth H. Merten, the current Haiti Special Coordinator, stand together prior a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Crédito: Matias Delacroix/AP

But many questions whether Haiti has the political or the wherewithal, to deal with its own problems alone. "So... we are finally alone, facing our demons. What are we waiting for?" Boute wrote on Twitter this week.

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Source link : https://www.univision.com/amp/univision-news/latin-america/haiti-gang-truce-but-little-sign-of-long-term-relief-from-anarchy Author : Publish date : 2021-11-14 03:00:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source .

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