Essential The Official Contemporary Haitian Geopolitics/Event thread

[Mega]

Even SeeJeanty who is usually very optimistic when it comes to Haiti is starting to get frustrated
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Haiti gang leader ‘Barbecue’ says fuel can start flowing in Haiti​

November 06, 2022

The leader of a powerful gang alliance that has spent the past two months blocking the flow of fuel, food and drinking water in poverty-stricken Haiti declared its blockade of the country’s main oil terminal and seaports over Sunday. “The drivers and employees of Terminal Varreux can descend without fear,” gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, the head of the G-9 Family and Allies, said in a video taped message Sunday where he began by giving the date as proof of its authenticity.
A former Haiti National Police officer turned gang leader who goes by the name “Barbecue,” Cherizier said he and his “Revolutionary Forces” have been closely following what’s being said about Haiti and the inability of the country’s political and civil society leaders to come together without “hypocrisy” for the good of the country.
As a result, the alliance has decided to allow fuel to once more flow. “We,” he said, “are asking all truck drivers, and all implicated in the distribution of gas, to take all dispositions to permit fuel to be distributed to pumps.” Since Tuesday, the gang has been locked in a confrontation with specialized units of the Haitian national police, which finally took control of the Varreux terminal on Thursday.
But even as Cherizier’s video message made the rounds Sunday, police were reporting heavy shootings in the area where the terminal is located. A number of gang members have reportedly died or been injured in the gun battle, police sources have said

 

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Criminal Charges Unsealed Against Haitian Gang Leaders For Kidnappings of U.S. Citizens

The Department of Justice today announced the unsealing of criminal charges against seven leaders of five Haitian gangs, including gang leaders involved in the armed kidnappings of 16 U.S. citizens in the fall of 2021.

www.justice.gov

11/07/22


Contemporaneous with today’s announcement, the U.S. Department of State is announcing a reward of $3 million ($1 million per each of the three defendants charged in the kidnapping of the missionaries) for information leading to the capture of the three defendants, who are believed to be in Haiti. The reward is being offered under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program

 

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Haitian women arrested following major ammunition bust​

November 09, 2022
SANTO DOMINIGO, Dominican Republic, Nov 9, CMC – Two Haitian women have been arrested after security officials here intercepted a vehicle carrying more than 22,000 rounds of ammunition destined for Haiti.

The soldiers from the Specialised Corps for Land Border Security (CESFRONT) responsible for border operations made the arrest on Tuesday. They said a toddler was also in the company of the two women when the vehicle was searched at the El Carrizal border post.
According to the authorities, the soldiers discovered the ammunition that the two women had intended to smuggle into Haiti as well as five cell phones.
The women and the minor as well as the vehicle and the ammunition seized were taken to the base of operations of Elías Piña

A Haitian national, whose passport was found in the vehicle and has been living here for several months, told the media he has no idea as to what transpired on Tuesday.

Haiti has been rocked by violence with armed criminal gangs blockading access to the country’s main fuel terminal and seaports, as well as calling for the resignation of the government in Port au Prince

 

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11.14.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Haiti's Humanitarian Crisis

Haiti is getting levied with sanctions from the United Nations and the United States. Caribbean Correspondent from the Miami Herald, Jacqueline Charles, will tell us what's happening in Haiti that is causing a humanitarian crisis.

 

[loyola llothta]

Just heard about dude

 

[mson]

Harvard University will be led by a person of color for the first time in its nearly 400-year history

History has been made at Harvard University, as Claudine Gay becomes the first person of color – and second woman – to be named president of the school.

www-cnbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[loyola llothta]

 

[mson]

Haiti’s Last Resort: Gangs and the Prospect of Foreign Intervention | Crisis Group

Criminal gangs are wreaking havoc in Haiti, nudging public opinion toward accepting the idea of an international force that would help restore security. Outside powers should prepare a mission only with solid backing from the country’s politicians, including their pledges to form a transitional...

www.crisisgroup.org

 

[mson]

 

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*good news, for a change

Haiti garment workers share $1m payout after factory closure a year ago

More than 1,100 workers who were left destitute to be compensated by owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein

www.theguardian.com

Feb 5, 2023
More than 1,100 garment workers in Haiti are sharing $1m (£830,000) in compensation from the owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein after being left destitute by the closure of a factory.

PVH, which was one of several brand owners sourcing from the Vald’or factory in the Caribbean country, agreed to pay the sum to cover missed severance pay, pension contributions directly to workers and the government pension fund after involvement by the Worker Rights Consortium lobby group.



Vald’or, which is owned by a US-based company and made clothes for PVH’s licensee Centric as well as several other brands, closed its factory in Port-au-Prince in January 2022. Haiti’s garment industry has suffered amid rising violence in the country, which has affected shipments, and sliding orders from North American brands, which have been hit by the cost of living crisis.

In a rare intervention by a large fashion brand owner, most former Vald’or workers are receiving the equivalent of more than six months’ wages, and some are receiving more than a year’s pay.

 

[bnew]

Around 70% of Haitians back international force to fight gangs, survey says

Around seven in 10 people in Haiti back proposed creation of an international force to help the national police fight violence from armed gangs who have expanded their territory since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, according to a survey carried out in January.

www.reuters.com

2 minute readFebruary 3, 20237:18 PM ESTLast Updated 2 days ago

Around 70% of Haitians back international force to fight gangs, survey says​

Houses pack a hillside in the Jalousie district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti February 3,2023. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Around seven in 10 people in Haiti back proposed creation of an international force to help the national police fight violence from armed gangs who have expanded their territory since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, according to a survey carried out in January.

Some 69% of nearly 1,330 people across Haiti said they supported an "international force" - which has been requested by the Haitian government - according to a survey from local business risk management group Agerca and consulting firm DDG.


Nearly 80%, however, said they believed Haiti's PNH national police needed international support to resolve the problem of armed gangs, most saying it should be deployed immediately.

In October, the United Nations suggested a "rapid action force" be sent to Haiti to combat escalating violence from armed gangs whose turf battles have left hundreds dead and thousands displaced.

But many have expressed skepticism, citing abuses from past missions and questioning a force backing the administration of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, which has been without democratically elected representatives since early January.

Most countries have been wary of sending troops, though nearby Jamaica on Tuesday said it would be willing to participate and El Salvador has offered "technical assistance".

U.N. envoy to Haiti Helen La Lime last week said she had heard caution from the United States and Canada, but "not a definite no."

"Nobody wants to repeat the mistakes of the past," she said, adding the force would work in partnership with the PNH.


More than a third of those surveyed said since 2021 they knew someone in their neighborhood, family, or workplace who had been killed. Over 70% said their movements in the capital had been limited by gang presence and 83% said they lost income.

Some 36% said they or someone they knew had since 2021 been victim of a kidnapping, while 28% said this was the case for physical assault, and 9% for sexual assault. A quarter said they had stopped social activities and a fifth said they had left their homes.

 

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[From beginning until @ 18:37 mark]
On this episode of The South Florida Roundup, we looked into the four arrests that were made in South Florida in connection to the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse in 2021

 

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Haiti: Fight against gangs overshadows Flag Day festivities​

Al Jazeera English
May 18 is Haitian Flag Day - recognising the adoption of the country’s flag in 1803. But this year, people are using it to reinforce the fight against gangs. Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo has more from Port-au-Prince, Haiti

 

[Secure Da Bag]

Almost like a pre-blueprint for the latest assassination

July 1958 Haitian coup d'état attempt - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org