You may say things couldn’t get worse in Haiti right now as violent gangs rule much of the country, including almost all of the capital, Port-au-Prince. But February 7 is supposedly the deadline for interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry to step down.
That deadline was set under the assumption that Haiti by now would have held a long overdue election to replace President Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated three years ago.
That hasn’t happened. So Henry’s departure would likely just create an even larger government vacuum than what already exists in Haiti — which would likely just make the gangs even stronger. But since many Haitians, including the gangs, want Henry out, there could be more violence if he stays.
READ MORE: Abduction of nuns may portend worse violence ahead in Haiti
The Miami Herald’s longtime Caribbean Correspondent, Jacqueline Charles, told WLRN's South Florida Roundup on Friday that Haiti's issues are not simple but quite complex.
She told South Florida Roundup host Tim Padgett that she’s heard recent reports of a prison being taken over, schools shutting down as well as looting and shooting near the U.S. embassy.
“We don't know where this is going to end but what we clearly see is that in the last couple of days, you have various sectors, whether it's in the political arena, whether it's the gangs, whether it's militia, they're all jockeying and creating this turbulence on the ground,” said Charles.
The country is virtually taken over by violent gangs. The United Nations says they were responsible for more than 4,000 murders last year. The U.N., the U.S. and the international community have been pinning their hopes for beating back that crisis on a Multinational Security Support mission to help Haiti’s vastly outnumbered police force.
The mission is supposed to be led by Kenya — but its Supreme Court is now blocking the move.
Kenya’s parliament passed a motion in November allowing the deployment of 1,000 officers to lead a multinational force in Haiti. But Judge Chacha Mwita said Kenya’s National Security Council, which is led by the president, does not have the authority to deploy regular police outside the country.
Kenya’s President, William Ruto, recently told Reuters that he is currently working on the paperwork to satisfy the issue raised by the court — which is that there is no reciprocal agreement that exists with Haiti to share police, according to Charles.
“If you knew that this was there and this is in your law, why wasn't this taken care of months ago?” she said. “That has led some people to wonder whether or not, given the current context on the ground–the volatility, whether Kenya is having cold feet.”
And now there’s an added anxiety here, as Charles reports, that Republicans in Congress are starting to balk at the Biden administration’s plan to provide the bulk of funding for the Kenya-led police support mission in Haiti.
“The reality is that Kenya is the only country that raised its hands with the wherewithal to even lead such a mission. Jamaica has, the Bahamas have [but] they're small. They can't take this on. So beggars cannot be choosers … the reality is, is that the Haitian police — their numbers have been dwindling,” said Charles.
While the country waits for Kenya and the international community to get their acts together on aiding Haiti’s collapsed public security, the gangs just keep getting stronger and more brazen.
Last month, six Roman Catholic nuns were kidnapped for ransom and the number of kidnappings and killings have more than doubled in the country, according to Charles.
“Every two days a Haitian was being killed, you know. Every few hours somebody was being kidnapped.And those are the cases that we know about,” she said. “For everyone who thinks the situation cannot get worse, it can get worse.”
The correspondent says that one benefit to Haiti — to some degree — is that's it's not seeing the same kind of organized crime seen in Ecuador. While the groups are starting to talk more amongst themselves, there is still a level of disorganization.
“There's a problem in Haiti…the gang situation didn't just start yesterday. This crisis didn't start yesterday. And yes, there's been a lot of pressure on Henry to deliver because he's the one who's sitting in the power seat. But I really do believe that the fate of Haiti lies in the hands of Haitians who have to decide enough is enough already. And we have not seen that on either part–the government or those trying to come in.”
You can listen to the full conversation above.
