【2024 Haiti】Haitian Gangs Release Nearly 4,000 Prison Inmates: Riots Break Out, Gang Boss Threatens to Overthrow Prime Minister

2024-03-04 13:40 United News Network 24 Hours Around the Corner On March 3, 2024, a fire broke out near the prison in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after thousands of prisoners escaped.Photo/AFP

【2024. 3. 4 Haiti】

Haitian gangs release nearly 4,000 prison inmates: Riots break out in Port-au-Prince, gang boss threatens to overthrow Prime Minister

“Port-au-Prince has fallen into unprecedented chaos, with gangs attacking everywhere and nearly 4,000 prisoners escaping…” In Haiti, a Caribbean country that has been troubled by law and order for many years, on March 2, local armed gangs attacked a prison in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and released With about 4,000 prisoners, Port-au-Prince is in serious chaos, and the Haitian police union has called for all police officers in Port-au-Prince to be equipped with cars or weapons and ammunition. The riot started on February 29 and was launched by Jimmy Cherizier, the leader of the most powerful gang in Haiti, the leader of the G-9 alliance, in order to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry; and during the riot At the time of the launch, Henry had gone to Kenya to discuss coordinating the deployment of United Nations security forces to Haiti to maintain law and order.

The riots in Port-au-Prince have been going on for several days. After acting Prime Minister Henry left the country for a visit to the African country Kenya on February 29, Cherizil, nicknamed “Barbecue”, announced that multiple armed gangs would launch a joint attack with the purpose of Overthrow Henry. The notorious Cherizier is generally considered to be the mastermind behind many mass murders in Port-au-Prince. He himself also has political prospects. After the assassination of former Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021 and the acting Prime Minister Henry, he came to power. , Cherichier had always advocated the overthrow of Henry.

Cherizier used to be a police officer and now leads the Port-au-Prince gang alliance-G-9 Alliance. He has faced sanctions from the United Nations and the U.S. Treasury Department; before announcing the riot on February 29, he posted on the community A video in the media stated:

“All of us, whether we are armed groups in the provinces or the capital, are united today. The country is out of control, there is no governance, there is no leader, the people are starving, they cannot go out because of insecurity, the people are tired It’s unbearable and it can’t be tolerated any longer. Our goal is to ensure that Henry’s government does not remain in power in any way.”

On March 1, 2024, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a demonstrator raised a sea wave while protesting against Prime Minister Henry’s government and insecurity…

Port-au-Prince has been engulfed in gun battles and panic for days, resulting in the death of four policemen and injuries to five others. The police station was attacked and the airport was also attacked. Many airlines have canceled flights. The local police union originally issued an appeal to the military to help strengthen prisons. However, on March 2, gangs carried out a large-scale attack on the national prison in Port-au-Prince. About 4,000 male prisoners escaped, including gang members accused of participating in the Moise assassination. According to a report by Reuters, as of March 3, the prison door was still open and there were no police around. Three inmates who tried to escape died in the yard in the chaos, while a prison volunteer revealed that 99 inmates were worried that He died in the fire but chose to stay in his cell.

As chaos in Port-au-Prince grows, police union takes to Twitter (now known as X)callEquip Port-au-Prince police with cars or weapons and ammunition to maintain control of the prison, the statement said:

“If gangs take over the prison, we will be finished. No one in the capital will be spared, because now there are more than 3,000 bandits and bandits roaming around.”

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti issued a security alert on March 1, warning of possible shootings and traffic disruptions at the airport, hotels, and central police station in Port-au-Prince; it issued another statement on March 3, urging U.S. citizens to leave Haiti. It added that the United States will conduct limited operations on March 4 to respond to the situation. The French Embassy in Haiti advised against traveling in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, and stated that visa operations and administrative services would be suspended on March 4.

On March 1, 2024, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a masked man called on demonstrators to stop fighting. Photo / Reuters A prison volunteer revealed that 99 prisoners chose to stay in their cells for fear of dying in the fire. The picture shows staying in prison…

The reason why Prime Minister Henry visited Kenya is that in 2023, at his request, the United Nations approved the dispatch of a Kenyan-led security force to Haiti to help maintain law and order. It is expected to be stationed in Haiti for one year. Kenya promised to send 1,000 police officers, and other Central American countries such as the Bahamas, Jamaica, Antika and Barbuda were also willing to provide assistance. However, the plan encountered domestic opposition in Kenya. In January 2024, Kenya The High Court of Kenya rejected the plan, ruling that Kenya’s National Security Council did not have the legal authority to dispatch police abroad and that the Kenyan government had no authority to deploy police to other countries without reaching domestic agreements.

In order to try to enable security forces to go to Haiti, Henry arrived in Kenya on February 29, and Kenyan President William Ruto issued a statement on March 1 stating that he had signed an agreement with Henry to expedite the deployment of security forces. deployment process.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas. Violence has worsened in recent years. Gangs control about 80% of the area in Port-au-Prince, which can be called a “gangster state”. After former President Moise was elected in 2016, Haiti has never held another election. Henry was elected Prime Minister by Moise only 24 hours before Moise was assassinated. He took office two weeks after Moise’s death and served as acting president. The rationality of his power has always been questioned.

Henry originally signed an agreement with representatives of other political parties and civil society organizations in Haiti in December 2022, agreeing to hold elections in 2023 so that the new government would take office on February 7, 2024, but the election was not held as scheduled. Henry’s argument is that gang violence has worsened, making it impossible to ensure free and fair elections. Not only the presidential election, but also the congressional election has not been held. This means that after the expiration of the term of the previously elected senators in Haiti in January 2023, there will be no elected officials or members of the Haitian government and Congress.

This situation, coupled with dissatisfaction with public security, has led to continued protests in Haiti, and gangs have also called for arms chanting “Overthrow Henry”.

according toUnited Nations dataviolence has caused 314,000 Haitians to be displaced within their own country, and more than 8,400 people were victims of Haitian gang violence in 2023. This number is more than double that of 2022.

The remains of inmates inside the Haitian National Penitentiary.Photo/Associated Press Past 24 hours Latin America

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2024-03-04 05:40:46