Haiti: Hundreds of inmates escape after armed gangs storm prison
Haiti’s prime minister Ariel Henry agreed to resign once a transitional presidential council is created amid urgent efforts to quell spiralling gang violence in the country.
Mr Henry confirmed his resignation hours after Caribbean leaders and US secretary of state Antony Blinken met in Jamaica to urgently discuss the crisis.
Mr Henry is currently in Puerto Rico and has been barred from returning to his home country. A growing number of officials in Haiti are calling for his resignation.
The country is under a state of emergency after heavily armed criminal gangs attacked major government assets across the capital Port-au-Prince in recent days and took control of the country’s main international airports.
The violence, which began on 29 February, has seen gang members burn down police stations and raid the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
Mr Henry has served as the country’s prime minister since 2021, the longest term in the unelected role since the Haitian constitution was drafted in the 1980s.
Police manage to get trucks out of Haiti port
Haitian police were able to get trucks out of a Haitian port to get fuel into the capital on Monday, according to a reporter with the Miami Herald.
Additionally, officials were able to reinforce the perimeter wall around the airport.
Michelle Del Rey12 March 2024 07:43
PM Ariel Henry says ‘no sacrifice too big for country’
Prime minister Ariel Henry released a video statement to announce his resignation after the Caribbean leaders confirmed he is stepping down.
In a videotaped statement, Mr Henry said: “The government that I’m running cannot remain insensitive in front of this situation. There is no sacrifice that is too big for our country.”
“The government I’m running will remove itself immediately after the installation of the council,” he said.
Shweta Sharma12 March 2024 07:42
Haiti prime minister resigns as criminal gangs plunge country into crisis
Mr Henry will stand down once a transitional government has been put in place, according to the chair of the Caribbean Community regional bloc Irfaan Ali, who is also president of Guyana.
Shweta Sharma12 March 2024 07:33
Haitian congresswoman calls for Haiti prime minister to resign
US Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, has called for Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.
“We have to make sure that the Haitian people trust the process and that they feel that they are being protected and that the gangs will not be involved in any kind of transition government,” the Haitian-American representative said on Monday. She added that Mr Henry should hand over his post to a transitional government, according to the Miami Herald.
She also insisted that gang members should not get amnesty. “The gangs have consistently asked for amnesty. I believe that more people will be committed to working and fighting with the gangs if they think they are going to get amnesty,” she said during a news conference. “If we do that, I don’t believe that the Haitian people will ever believe that the international community has their best interests at heart.”
Michelle Del Rey12 March 2024 06:43
Caricom leaders were in sensitive discussions ahead of meeting
Michelle Del Rey12 March 2024 05:43
Gang leader behind rebellion gives update on country’s future
Jimmy Chérizier told ABC News that if Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry steps down, the violence will temporarily stop.
“We are going to call for a truce just to evaluate the situation,” he told the news outlet. “Everywhere around Port-au-Prince that is currently blocked or inaccessible will be reopened and we will automatically stop the attacks on the police stations.”
Mr Chérizier, also known as “Barbecue” said his mission is to fight corrupt traditional politicians and the country’s current system. Mr Henry has been in power since 2021 and has had the longest term since the country’s constitution was founded in 1987.
Michelle Del Rey12 March 2024 04:43
Antony Blinken arrives at emergency meeting in Jamaica
Michelle Del Rey12 March 2024 03:43
In photos: Haiti’s ongoing state of emergency
Workers put down a fire set at an office of Haiti’s power company during a protest to demand the resignation of the Prime Minister Ariel Henry in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 1, 2024
(AP)
Residents flee their homes during clashes between police and gang member at the Portail neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024
(AP)
An injured journalist is helped after he was reportedly hit by a tear gas canister fired by police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 9, 2024. Sporadic gunfire rang out in Port-au-Prince late March 8
(AFP via Getty Images)
A woman with a gunshot wound is transported by two men on a motorcycle as Haiti remains in state of emergency due to the violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 9, 2024
(REUTERS)
Members of the General Security Unit of the National Palace, USGPN, set up a security perimeter around one of the three downtown stations after police fought off an attack by gangs the day before, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, March 9, 2024
(AP)
People walk near the cars consumed by a fire, as Haiti remains in the state of emergency due to the violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 9, 2024
(REUTERS)
Michelle Del Rey12 March 2024 02:43
Haiti’s crisis is prompting thousands of residents to flee to the Dominican Republic
Fifteen thousand people have been displaced in Haiti since the end of last month, when the gang attacks began, according to Le Monde. This has led to some of the country’s residents attempting to cross into neighbouring Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Despite the ongoing crisis, border officials in the Dominican Republic have been filmed deporting some of the residents back into Haiti, according to Al Jazeera.
Last year, the Dominican Republic closed its border with the country over the construction of a canal on the Massacre River, which lies in between the two countries. In October, the Dominican Republic partially reopened the border but maintained a ban on issuing visas to Haitian migrants.
Diplomatic tensions continue. After the gang attacks, Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry was denied entry into the Dominican Republic, forcing him to take shelter in nearby Puerto Rico.
Michelle Del Rey12 March 2024 01:43
US and EU embassies begin evacuating staff
The US military said it has evacuated additional nonessential personnel from the country’s Haiti embassy while bolstering its security.
The embassy continues to remain open. “Heightened gang violence in the neighborhood near U.S. embassy compounds and near the airport led to the State Department’s decision to arrange for the departure of additional embassy personnel. All arriving and departing passengers work for the U.S. government,” the embassy said in a statement posted to X.
According to CNN, the German and European Union embassies have also evacuated some of their diplomatic staff, including their ambassadors, Peter Bauer and Stefano Gatto.
The Dominican Republic’s airspace is currently closed to Haiti.
Michelle Del Rey12 March 2024 00:43
