Port-au-Prince’s capital is mostly under the influence of groups commanded by Jimmy Chérizier, popularly known as Barbecue. He said that the violence that has engulfed Haiti in recent weeks may worsen in the days ahead.
Despite this, he told the media. “We are ready for solutions.” More than 11 million people live in the poor Caribbean country of Haiti, where there hasn’t been a prime minister since March 12.
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After signing an agreement to bring in a multinational security force in an attempt to reestablish law and order, Ariel Henry resigned from his position because armed gangs were preventing him from leaving Kenya.
Because of the authority vacuum, gangs have taken advantage of it and increased their influence over large regions of the nation, making certain areas essentially lawless.
With support from the US and other Caribbean countries, a Presidential Transitional Council has been formed to develop a strategy to bring back democratic governance in Haiti.
The most well-known member of the informal coalition of gangs known as Viv Ansanm (Live Together), which controls around 80% of Port-au-Prince, Mr. Chérizier feels his group ought to be represented at any future negotiations.
“If the international community comes with a detailed plan where we can sit together and talk, but they do not impose on us what we should decide, I think that the weapons could be lowered.”
He said that he was “not proud” of the increasing levels of violence in Haiti and issued a warning that if organizations like his, who criticize “corrupt politicians,” are not included in any future administration, the problem may worsen.
In addition, he said that any Kenyan soldiers sent to increase security would be viewed as “aggressors” and “invaders”.
The United Nations classified the situation in Haiti as “cataclysmic” in a report that was released earlier this week.
It reported that in the first three months of 2024, there had been over 1,500 fatalities and 800 injuries.
The “harrowing practices” of the gangs, who are suspected of utilizing excessive violence and sexual assault as a form of control and punishment, were described in depth in the study.
Aid organizations have warned that millions of people are starving and that it is impossible to get food and water into the capital. Some of these people are in danger of becoming hungry.
