CARIBBEAN CATASTROPHE: AVOIDING THE HAITI FALLOUT. The United States cannot allow inaction to create a failed state.
President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination on July 7, 2021, upended the nation, exacerbating the crisis that began in July 2018 with a furious outbreak of protests over fuel prices. In the aftermath, ongoing protests coincided with gang warfare to overwhelm the country. The capital of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas fell, for the most part, into the hands of gangs. Warlord Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, who leads the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies, now dominates most of Haiti’s capital in his bid to topple the government.
The Haitian government risks completely losing control of the country. Widespread attacks on institutions and infrastructure paralyze Haiti. Gangs assault police stations, hospitals, ports, prisons, and even airports. In March 2024, gangs besieged prisons to release thousands of inmates and struck the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, preventing the acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, from returning after a visit to Kenya. With local airports not spared from the havoc, the Federal Aviation Administration placed a ban on US flights to Haiti until March 2025 because gangs continue to fire upon commercial aircraft.
Described as “apocalyptic” by William O’Neill, whom the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed its expert on Haiti, the country has suffered thousands of homicides as well as kidnappings, with rape a common occurrence. In addition to the violence, Haitians experience a constant lack of food, shelter, water, and medical services. All the necessities of a functioning state remain in disrepair. The humanitarian catastrophe has displaced more than five hundred thousand Haitians, a majority of whom are seeking entry into the United States, legally or not. More than three hundred thousand Haitians have been granted safe haven through the Temporary Protected Status program, as the Biden administration expanded program coverage last summer.
The political instability shows no sign of abating.
Rubbish — Conan O’Brien assures me that Haiti is the jewel of the Caribbean:
