Another day, another deluge of bad and concerning news coming from Haiti.
After the weekend, when almost 5K prisoners – many dangerous felons – were freed in massive gang attacks to the two biggest prisons in the country, the explosive unrest continued unabated with similar attacks on Haiti’s main international airport and police academy.
In both locations, armed gang members exchanged gunfire with police and soldiers.
CBS News reported:
“The Toussaint Louverture International Airport was closed when the attack occurred, with no planes operating and no passengers on site. Associated Press journalists saw an armored truck on the tarmac shooting at gangs to try and prevent them from entering airport grounds as scores of employees and other workers fled from whizzing bullets.
The attack on the police academy, where more than 800 cadets are training, was repelled Tuesday after the arrival of reinforcements, said Lionel Lazarre of the Haitian police union.”
These latest attacks occurred just hours after authorities in Haiti ordered a nighttime curfew and a 72-hour state of emergency.
The government vows to track down the escaped inmates, some accused of slayings, kidnappings and other crimes.
“‘The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders’, said a statement from Finance Minister Patrick Boivert, the acting prime minister.”
The ‘leader’ is absent during this most dire hour.
Henry is also silent as he travels the world with no announced date of return.
Haiti’s National Police is routinely overwhelmed and outgunned, with only 9,000 officers to protect more than 11 million people.
Now, the active gangs have been potentially reinforced with almost 5K prisoners freed during the prison attacks.
“The office said late Monday that it was seriously concerned about the safety of judges, prosecutors, victims, attorneys and others following the mass escape. It added that it “deplored and condemned the policy of nonchalance” demonstrated by government officials amid the attacks.”
The U.S. State Department urged Americans and State Department employees to stay put and be careful while on the island.
Bloomberg reported:
“As Haiti descends into chaos, a key figure has been missing: Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Henry traveled to Guyana for a meeting of Caribbean leaders on Feb. 25 and then continued on to Kenya, where he signed a document paving the way for a multinational security force.
But as gangs have turned the capital of Port-au-Prince into a war zone, freeing thousands of prisoners, burning police stations and attacking Haiti’s main international airport, Henry’s whereabouts are unknown. Calls and emails to his office went unanswered, and he hasn’t posted on his verified X account since Sunday.”
Henry came into power after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, with the backing of the international community.
“’It’s our understanding that the prime minister is returning to the country’, US Department of State Spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday in a briefing. ‘We think it’s important that he do so and that he be allowed to do so’.”
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