How Haiti spiralled into violent mayhem

This is Haiti caught in the middle of an escalating gang war. It is a country on the verge of collapse. Murders, kidnappings and sexual violence are an everyday reality. The gangs have become too powerful and the police cannot compete. What is truly incredible is the feeling of being in a war zone, in fact over the years I have seen first hand a downward spiral towards violence and chaos. This is very much an ongoing disaster, so how has Haiti gotten to this point and what could happen next? Haiti is a small country in the Caribbean, its capital.

PTO Prince is mainly controlled by dangerous armed gangs. It's quite remarkable, in fact, you have so many factions, so many gangs fighting each other and, their territories are very specific, the city is caught in the middle of a deadly grass ball between these groups, so if you were passing by here now they would shoot yes Yes, January was the most

violent

month in the country in more than two years, at least 86 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in January 2023, almost 5,000 people died, an increase of 110% year-on-year Before the gangs too continue to use sexual violence against women and girls as a weapon, things have deteriorated as this year has progressed, these people fled their homes during intense shootouts between rival gangs fighting for control of territory and businesses and in that same month the gangs attacked the police. stations at the main airport and raided the country's two largest prisons, freeing thousands of inmates in March Haiti entered a state of emergency.

Signs of street battles can be seen everywhere. This old woman was hit by a stray bullet. She is now a gang boss and former police officer known as. BBQ has called on criminal groups to unite and overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry. These gangs are incredibly powerful, controlling major roads, ports and food supplies and taking money from businesses, but fear is their number one weapon, but Haiti's problems go back much further. Haiti's arrival at this point can be traced through its history of political instability, social unrest, natural disasters, and foreign interventions after being governed as a Spanish and then French colony.

Haiti glimpsed independence in the 19th century, the Haitian revolution was the first major successful revolution. Revolt of enslaved people scaled in modern history, but it came at a price: the country was forced to take out high-interest loans to pay off a debt to France in 1915. The United States invaded wanting to protect its own business interests in the country during his 20 years. The occupation was sometimes bloody. More unstable governments followed until the 1950s, when François Duvalier, also known as Papadoc, took power and ruled as dictator. After his death, his son, Baby, assumed power under his rule.

Thousands of people were killed or tortured in prisons and Corruption. left the country struggling economically in 1987 a revolt forced Baby Do to flee, but what followed was more chaos with multiple leaders replaced in military coups. President Jean Betatron Ared fled into exile after several attempts to overthrow him led to a country-wide conflict that the United Nations dispatched. a peacekeeping force to restore order at the time Haiti was dealing with gang violence and rising crime, as well as political instability, but this UN mission was controversial as it was linked to a breakdown of the Coler outbreak and accusations of human rights abuses in 2010, added more misery to the situation. already desperate situation when a devastating earthquake H I arrived later and reported from the hospital they are still taking people to the hospitals and the hospitals are overwhelmed, as they were days ago, they simply cannot cope in just a few seconds, the capital was devastated and More More than 200,000 people were killed and they hope to find more people alive, but as each hour passes, the chances become slimmer and slimmer, leaving Haiti with alarming levels of poverty and corruption, decimated infrastructure, an organized crime that is spiraling out of control. of control and there are also There are bullets, bullets are fired, they are trying to clear the streets, but things got even worse in 2021 when President Jenel Mui was assassinated.

Since then, gang violence has increased and criminal groups have stepped in to fill the void left by political failure and a lack of economic development, smuggling of weapons and drugs into the country also fuels criminal groups without a government. elected civilian. Chaos in the streets and a group of gangs that control vast stretches of the country for all intents and purposes. Haiti is now controlled by a The Federation of gang bosses, possibly a world first at the helm, is roasting a man who when I met him I knew immediately was a force to be reckoned with in this latest wave of gang violence. gangs when the country's Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, visited Kenya.

He has been finalizing plans for a peacekeeping force to come from Africa to Haiti with financial backing from the United States. Given this increasingly urgent need, the United States Department of Defense is doubling its approved support for the mission. That mission will include 1,000 Kenyan police officers. officials, has now been delayed until a new government is in place in Haiti. We are giving this response because it is the right thing to do, it is what humanity can do to its fellow human beings and that may be true, but the African nation also wants to prove itself as a reliable ally on the world stage which can be complicated, although when I met BBQ last year warned me that sending foreign troops would only lead to more violence, so any international force could face a coalition of armed gangs well trained in urban warfare elsewhere.

The United States is trying to put together a plan for the country's political transition hours after Anthony Blinkin met with Caribbean leaders. Haiti's prime minister announced that he will resign, but only once a presidential council is created, while the timeline for this is unclear. What is clear is that Ha people want to change. The longer this crisis lasts, the more people will be caught in the crossfire with struggles so deeply embedded in society that it is difficult to imagine where it will go from here.