Jamaica’s Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith announced that Jamaica has suspended consular services in Haiti, after its consulate in the nation’s capital came under attack Monday night.
Via video message, Johnson Smith she said her government is aware that the Sun Auto Car Dealership, where the Jamaican consulate is located, “was set ablaze and ransacked by criminal gangs.”
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She described the attack as “hardened our resolve in returning Haiti to the peace and prosperity, which she and her people deserve.”
Sun Auto is located in the Tabarre area of Port-au-Prince, near the U.S. embassy and in a red zone where a gang has been wreaking havoc.
She said, “The Consulate of Jamaica was located on the premises and therefore consular services in Haiti are therefore suspended indefinitely.”
Johnson Smith also expressed Jamaica’s sympathies to the owner of the dealership and honorary consul Daniel Rouzier.
The timing of the alleged gang attack has raised suspicions, even bordering on coincidental as Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and members of his delegation are in Kingston trying resolve a path toward elections, governance, as the continued violence by gangs threatens the future of the country and the lives of Haitians.
