The latest from that benighted country: "'Haiti will go hungry soon' as looting sparks food shortage crisis and society 'plunges into chaos' - with experts warning 'the country is falling apart' as 'Barbecue' gang leader's thugs take control." An excerpt:
Port-au-Prince has been paralysed in a fierce battle for political power, with Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier - an influential gang leader in Haiti - having warned of civil war and 'genocide' unless embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns.
Henry travelled to Kenya last week to negotiate a UN-backed multinational police mission to stabilise his country. However, as he attempted to fly back to Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, he was prevented from landing by gang attacks on the airport.
He landed in the US territory of Puerto Rico instead, where he is believed to remain.
The attacks began a week ago, shortly after Henry agreed to hold general elections in mid-2025 while attending a meeting of Caribbean leaders in Guyana.
Gangs have burned police stations, shot up the main international airport, which remains closed, and raided Haiti's two biggest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates.
An initial three-day curfew was announced over the weekend.
But Despite the crackdown, gangs have continued to attack police stations and other state institutions at night with Haiti's National Police struggling to contain the violence with limited staff and resources.
In many cases, the gangs are better armed than the police.
'The people with the guns are essentially the current arbiter of Haitian politics,' said Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia.
'The gangs have won the battle so far.'
I would note that Haiti has strict gun control laws, and that "Possession of firearms, ammunition, and dangerous weaponry is strictly prohibited to any person, unless the individual has a Haitian license or has been specifically authorized by Haitian authorities." The article continues:
Dozens of people have died in Haiti's recent gang attacks, including several police officers. The violence also has left more than 15,000 people homeless, in addition to some 300,000 Haitians who lost their homes to gang wars in recent years.
In addition, there were reports that gangs on Thursday looted shipping containers filled with food at the main port in Port-au-Prince, raising concerns that provisions in the capital and elsewhere would dwindle quickly.
'If we cannot access those containers, Haiti will go hungry soon,' said Laurent Uwumuremyi, Haiti director for Mercy Corps.
The operator of the port, Caribbean Port Services SA, said in a statement Thursday that it was suspending all operations because of 'malicious acts of sabotage and vandalism.'
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the insecurity has forced the World Food Program to suspend its maritime transport service.
The service is currently the only means of moving food and medical supplies for aid organisations from Port-au-Prince to other parts of the country.
There are a couple lessons for preppers from this: store food; store weapons and ammunition.
Haiti: definitely not a s**thole. A cannibalistic violent anarchy? Yes. But not a s**thole.
ReplyDeleteThat's the difference between saying one is having the neighbors over to dinner and saying one is having the neighbors over for dinner.
DeleteEvil demonic entrance to the underworld, or $hithole works for me.
DeleteProbably both.
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