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Earlier this month, armed gangs orchestrated jailbreaks from Haiti's two largest prisons and demanded the resignation of the Caribbean nation's prime minister, Ariel Henry. The Haitian leader is not currently in the country, and is petitioning the international community for a United Nations-backed security force to step in.See also:
More than 4,500 inmates have escaped, including senior gang leaders, the United Nations said last week, adding that the jailbreak was the result of "coordinated gang action against national institutions."
Haitian authorities extended a state of emergency and a curfew on Thursday as fierce battles for power continued to grip Port-au-Prince. The capital's international airport and main port are closed, and the country's national police — along with other state apparatus — have teetered on the edge of collapse.
Gangs have targeted and torched police stations, and in late January, Reuters reported that Haiti's national police had lost nearly 3,300 officers in around three years, citing trade union figures.
Estimates suggest armed gangs control upwards of 80 percent of the capital city.
Since the start of 2024, just under 1,200 people have been killed and nearly 700 others injured in the gang violence, according to the UN. In 2023, almost 4,000 people were killed and another 3,000 kidnapped in the fighting.
Haiti is "on the cusp of even greater chaos and violence," campaign group Human Rights Watch said on Friday. "The situation on the ground remains dire," added CARICOM, a regional bloc that includes Haiti.
The political and economic crisis is powering a looming humanitarian emergency. "The health system is on the brink of collapse," the UN said in a statement. "Hospitals often do not have the capacity to treat those arriving with gunshots wounds. Schools and business are closed, and children are increasingly used by gangs."
Drinkable water is running out, and more than 313,000 people have been internally displaced, the UN said.
"If Ariel Henry doesn't resign, if the international community continues to support him, we'll be heading straight for a civil war that will lead to genocide," influential Haitian gang leader Jimmy Chérizier — also known as Barbecue — said early last week.
"In the past week, the political crisis in Haiti, combined with escalating violence and civil unrest, has created an untenable situation which threatens the country's citizens and security," U.S. State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said on Friday.
The nascent state's (Haiti) future was hobbled in 1825 when France under Charles X forced it (with French warships anchored off the coast during the negotiations to pay 150 million gold francs in reparations to French ex-slaveholders—as a condition of French political recognition and to end the newly formed state's political and economic isolation.
Though the amount of the reparations was reduced to 90 million francs in 1838, Haiti was unable to finish paying off its debt until 1947. The indemnity bankrupted the Haitian treasury and left the country's government deeply impoverished, causing long-term instability. Haiti was therefore forced to take out a loan from French banks, who provided the funds for the large first installment, severely affecting Haiti's ability to prosper.
The payment was later reduced to 90 million francs in 1838, equivalent to $32,535,940,803 in 2022, with Haiti paying about 112 million francs in total. Over the 122 years between 1825 and 1947, the debt severely hampered Haitian economic development as payments of interest and down payments totaled a significant share of Haitian GDP, constraining the use of domestic financial funds for infrastructure and public services
Due to the unrealistic demands pushed by France, Haiti was forced to take large loans from French bank Crédit Industriel et Commercial, enriching the bank's shareholders. Though France received its last indemnity payment in 1888, the government of the United States funded the acquisition of Haiti's treasury in 1911 in order to receive interest payments related to the indemnity. In 1922, the rest of Haiti's debt to France was moved to be paid to American investors. It took until 1947 – about 122 years – for Haiti to finally pay off all the associated interest to the National City Bank of New York (now Citibank).
The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane, lit. 'Sale of Louisiana') was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River's drainage basin west of the river. In return for fifteen million dollars, or approximately eighteen dollars per square mile, the United States nominally acquired a total of 828,000 sq mi (2,140,000 km2; 530,000,000 acres) in Middle America
Since the start of 2024, just under 1,200 people have been killed and nearly 700 others injured in the gang violence, according to the UN. In 2023, almost 4,000 people were killed and another 3,000 kidnapped in the fighting.
"The fact that more people have died in Haiti in the early part of this year than in Ukraine must give everyone in Haiti and in the international community serious pause," Ali said.
Some of these gangs are referred to as Cannibal Gangs.
Things that make you go hmmmm.