Police took to the streets in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince on Thursday in violent protest over the recent killings of their fellow colleagues by armed gangs. More than 100 officers, dressed in civilian clothing, blocked streets around the major city, as well as in several northern towns. The protestors targeted the locations of main government officials. As reported by Reuters, the protestors first attacked Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s official residence before flocking to Haiti’s international airport in an attempt to overtake it. This occurred as Henry was returning from a visit to Argentina. Henry was able to narrowly elude protestors as they broke in through the windows.
The Haitian police blame the government for the recent deaths. Many have spoken out critically of the government for not stepping up to help police over the past months as gang violence has exploded across the small island nation. Since the beginning of the year, 14 officers have been killed in various attacks by criminal gangs, according to the BBC. Seven of these officers were murdered in a shootout on Wednesday alone. Two were killed inside a police station in a town in northern Haiti while four more were killed execution-style on the street outside. These killings happen as police are trying fruitlessly to take back control of the country from violent criminal gangs. Kidnappings have also risen significantly since the start of 2023, according to the BBC.
According to the Haitian human rights group RNDDH, 78 police officers have been killed by gangs since Henry first took power in July 2021. On average, that is 5 deaths per month in a country with a population of only 11.45 million people, as reported by the World Bank. The RNDDH said in a statement, as reported by Reuters, that Prime Minister Henry and the head of the national police force Frantz Elbe were more than responsible for all 78 deaths. They added “History will remember they did nothing to protect and preserve the lives of these agents who chose to serve their country.” Executive director of the World Food Programs (WFP) Valerie Guarnieri said as far back as September of 2022, “The situation in Haiti has sadly reached new levels of desperation.”
The situation in Haiti has been called out internationally as a major humanitarian crisis. With government leadership failing their citizens at a national level, desperation is running at a nearly insurmountable rate. These recent protests are a demonstration of this. Without increased international aid, Haiti will not be able to come back from the brink it is teetering on.
The Henry government made an appeal to the international community for a multi-national security force to help regain control of the country back in October 2022, according to the BBC. However, little was done to answer this call, with only slightly increased aid from the United States and Canada. Gangs currently control at least 60% of the capital as well as the roads in and out of the city. In September, armed groups gained control of a major fuel depot in the port of Port-au-Prince. This has greatly hindered the ability of aid including water, fuel, food and medicine to reach Haitian citizens. Many of these supplies, especially medicine, were vital as a cholera outbreak worsened throughout the country. The BBC reported a rate of roughly one kidnapping every six hours in Haiti. The police have done as much as they can to push back against the criminal groups, but gangs continue to outgun them.
In order to solve the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, greater international aid must be provided. However, the aid must be given strategically in order to avoid further bloodshed. The primary goal will be to reinstate channels through the country where aid can reach Haitian citizens who desperately need it, including medical attention for the ongoing cholera outbreak. Comprehensive foreign military aid will be necessary in order to regain control of the main ports and roads to allow these channels to reopen. However, it is imperative that this military force be provided in a temporary manner only until there is enough stability to allow domestic forces to regain order. Following this, aid should continue to be provided to Haiti to allow it to rebuild and facilitate stronger, more positive government leadership.
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