Police used tear gas to control crowds of protestors in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Demonstrators took to the streets to appeal for help in combating the gang violence and domination affecting neighborhoods across the city. Several protestors said they had had enough of a government that does not listen to them, and they wanted law and order back on their streets. “We’re vulnerable to the bullets being fired day and night,” one person said.
Parts of Haiti have been under gang control for years, and that has expanded in recent months. Criminal networks now exert power over around 80% of the capital, and reports indicate that extreme violence is routine. Former Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned earlier this year, and representatives of various countries, including the United States, convened a summit to discuss the spiraling situation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the meeting in Jamaica, where delegates determined that a group of local politicians and business leaders would form a transition council of leadership until a new government could be elected. The international community would also provide policing to attempt to bring the gangs under control, but recent reports indicate that this is proving unsuccessful.
Backed by the US, 400 police officers have been deployed to the troubled nation but have failed to push the criminal gangs out of Port-au-Prince. The Multinational Security Support (MSS) is tasked with restoring order, but critics say the group is underfunded and disorganized. Georges Fauriol, a senior adviser with the Latin America program at the US Institute of Peace, said, “The MSS itself is sort of a three-legged vehicle that is missing a wheel.”
Mr. Fauriol added that Washington is not focused on Haiti, particularly in light of conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and that any further funding for international causes will likely meet resistance in the halls of Congress. He said the United States does not want to get dragged any further into the Haitian chaos, but nevertheless, has already provided significant resources. For instance, the US Southern Command has given armored vehicles and protective equipment to officers and will soon deliver Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles.
