Haiti’s gangs have now made no secret of the fact that they want to drive out the government – they have even joined forces to do so. Their military power is greater than that of the state.
While Prime Minister Ariel Henry tried to return to Haiti, one of the main gang leaders, Jimmy Cherizier, alias “Barbecue”, gave a twenty-minute interview on Haitian television on Tuesday.
“We, as an association of all Haitian gangs, are fighting to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the existing system as quickly as possible,” explains Cherizier. “To get the country we want, a Haiti with jobs for all, with security, with free education, a Haiti without social discrimination.”
Hardly any support from the population
It almost sounds like a vision of liberation for a Haiti that has been plagued by hunger, chaos and corruption for years – but with a gang leader at the top. But Cherizier, a former police officer, is accused of serious human rights violations; he cites the former dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier as his role model.
The people of Haiti hardly see the gangs as liberators: On Monday, angry people lynched a notorious gang boss and then dragged his body through the streets. The anger towards politics and gangs is noticeable everywhere in Haiti. But the mood in Haiti will make it difficult to end the gang war.
Gang boss Cherizier made it all too clear in his interview that he only marginally cares about the well-being of the population: “If Ariel Henry doesn’t resign, if the international community continues to support him, it will lead us directly into a civil war that will result in one genocide will end.”
Violence, expulsion, scarcity
Jean-Martin Bauer, head of the UN World Food Program in Haiti, has observed for several years how armed groups try to control strategic points such as roads and the ports of Port-au-Prince. In an interview with Radio ICi Canada, Bauer warned that the blockades and attacks were leading Haiti straight to disaster.
According to Bauer, there have been more than 15,000 displaced people in the past few days alone. People no longer come to work because of the violence, crops rot because they cannot be brought to market. The UN World Food Program says that almost half a million people are food insecure.
Simply sending an international security mission to Haiti, as the UN Security Council decided in October, will not solve the problem, says Bauer. Because the humanitarian crisis is a recipe for instability and chaos. In order to stabilize the country, it must be ensured that people have enough food.
“Take Cherizier’s threats seriously”
Gang leader Cherizier’s threats should be taken very seriously, says Diego Da Rin from the non-governmental organization International Crisis Group. Meanwhile, once-rival gang coalitions have concluded a non-aggression pact in order to carry out large-scale attacks against the state. Da Rin doesn’t believe the gang leader’s supposedly noble motives. The current, brilliant attacks could serve other purposes.
It could be an attempt to deter the international community from sending a security mission. But they could also be a message to Haitian politicians to negotiate with the gangs. Because they now have military power that exceeds the capabilities of the Haitian security forces.
It could still be months before the UN security mission is deployed. Therefore, Haiti’s politicians and its international partners must quickly find a plan B, says Da Rin. It must be prevented that the situation gets completely out of control and that gang leader Cherizier’s threat of a civil war with many victims in Haiti comes true.
Henry’s democratic legitimacy is more than controversial; he has ruled without a parliament or a president since the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse almost three years ago. Henry recently pledged to hold elections, but not until mid-2025.
The United States and the Caribbean Community of Caricom demanded on Wednesday that Henry make “concessions in the interests of the Haitian people” – and bring forward the elections. However, they did not pressure the head of government to resign.
Markus Plate, ARD Mexico City, tagesschau, March 7, 2024 11:55 a.m