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Over the weekend, a group of former gang members raided two prisons in Haiti, leading to the escape of numerous prisoners and causing extensive turmoil and disorder.
According to the Associated Press, the nation announced a state of emergency lasting 72 hours on Sunday. Officials have stated that they will take any necessary actions to locate and detain the fugitive prisoners.
Acting prime minister Patrick Boivert stated that the police were instructed to utilize all lawful methods available to them in order to uphold the curfew and detain any individuals who violate it.
Where did it occur?
According to reports, almost all of the prisoners at Haiti’s main penitentiary, which had a population of around 4,000, managed to escape on Saturday. Three individuals were discovered dead from gunshot wounds outside of the facility. The second prison in Port-au-Prince, housing 1,400 inmates, was also seized.
According to a statement from Haitian government officials, both raids resulted in injuries to multiple prisoners and prison staff.
On March 1, 2024, police officers in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, were seen running with their weapons as they confronted a gang during a protest against Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s government and the issue of insecurity.
The statement reported, our police force were unable to stop a group of armed criminals from carrying out multiple dangerous activities, such as trying to release people in custody, including those charged with serious crimes like kidnapping and murder. These criminals didn’t hesitate to harm civilians, destroy public and private property, and take advantage of alliances to achieve their goals. Despite our officers’ efforts, they were not able to prevent the bandits from freeing a large number of prisoners.
Which prisoners remained?
A small number of prisoners did not escape, including the 18 Colombian mercenaries who are suspected of planning the 2021 murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. According to their lawyer, Samuel Madistin, they chose to stay in custody due to safety concerns.
After the assassination of Mr. Moïse, Haiti has been experiencing widespread violence perpetrated by gangs. According to a United Nations report, there were approximately 5,000 murders in 2023, which is double the number of the previous year.
What led to the outbreak of violence and who is responsible for it?
This week saw a significant increase in turmoil, following Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s trip to Kenya. He is working to advance a United Nations agreement that would involve 1,000 Kenyan police officers being deployed to Haiti in order to improve security.
There were reports of gunfire being heard throughout Port-au-Prince this past weekend, and there were widespread outages of internet service.
Former police officer Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier, leader of the ‘G9’ coalition in Haiti
A man named Jimmy Chérizier, formerly a police officer and now a formidable gang leader known as Barbecue, has admitted to being behind the recent surge of violent acts, with the intention of overthrowing Haiti’s already fragile government.
According to a video message on Thursday, Mr. Chérizier stated, “Together with our weapons and the people of Haiti, we will liberate our country.”
Source: independent.co.uk
