Proponents of former rebel commander Guy Philippe have called for Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation and have started rallies that have shut down many cities in Haiti.
Local media sources recently stated protesters forced the closure of government offices, schools, and commercial enterprises inside several locations, including the Dominican Republic-bordering northern city of Ouanaminthe and the southern cities of Jeremie and Miragoane. Les Cayes, a city in the south, was reported to have hundreds of protestors, and more are predicted in the next few days.
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After spending years in jail in the US, Philippe was deported to Haiti last month. In a letter to his followers, he stated that he is not planning a coup but rather seeking to change the country, where gang violence and poverty have escalated.
“My revolution is for the people, for the people only,” He continued, saying that he had nothing against the National Police of Haiti. “I’m asking police to do their job, to protect the people.”
After entering a guilty plea to a charge of money laundering, Philippe was sentenced to nine years in a US jail. His most well-known actions were organizing assaults on police stations and spearheading a 2004 uprising against former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Philippe returned to a Haiti that, according to the UN, is collapsing under the weight of dozens of gangs that are accountable for overrunning police, killing close to 4,000 people, and kidnapping an additional 3,000.
In his address to the gathering, Philippe pledged that “the suffering is going to be over pretty soon.”
