Gangs lose control in Haiti, police struggling to take control

• Locals in Port-au-Prince describe a perfect storm of disasters, warning that the nation is on the cusp of social collapse.
• 10 days of violence in Cité Soleil in July left more than 470 people dead, wounded, or missing.
• Last year, American and Canadian missionaries were abducted after visiting an orphanage in Croix-des-Bouquets.

Haiti: Injuries, shooting, and terror are regular sights in one of the hundreds of gang-controlled areas of Port-au-Prince, which looks to be devolving into a full-fledged conflict between police and increasingly well-equipped and organised criminal organisations.

This is a common occurrence: police explore into gang territory to demonstrate their reach, and gangs retaliate with powerful volleys of gunshots.

According to the UN, 10 days of violence in Cité Soleil in July left more than 470 people dead, wounded, or missing as the G9 gang attempted to extend its power in the region by acquiring territory from other gangs.

Social media footage from the region shows gangs employing a bulldozer armoured with steel plates to destroy houses, presumably those of competitors. Other homes had been burnt, and footage showed hundreds of people leaving the neighbourhood on foot at night at the height of the conflict.

Civilians fleeing Cité Soleil found scant reprieve, with many getting World Food Programme food handouts and hiding in the open air at the Hugo Chavez recreational area.

Flies swarm the rain-soaked concrete floor of the outdoor amphitheatre stage, where toddlers as young as four months fight to sleep in the open air. One has bruises from a fall, while the other has a painful and unsightly rash, but they are still alive.

Locals describe a perfect storm of disasters, warning that the nation is on the cusp of social collapse.
What remains of the country’s emergency transitional administration, formed last year in the aftermath of President Jovenel Mose’s killing, is crumbling and mired in allegations of passivity. Prime Minister Ariel Henry, his successor, has promised to fight instability and organise fresh elections, but has made little headway toward either aim.

According to one Haitian security force source who spoke to CNN, gangs control or influence three-quarters of the city.

The statement is refuted by Frantz Elbe, Director General of the Haitian National Police. “It is not a general problem in the metropolitan area,” he said CNN, failing to provide a number.

Nonetheless, it is certain that critical components of the national infrastructure are now totally in criminal hands. Gangs control the city’s crucial port, Haiti’s primary, as well as the route outside. The key route to the nation’s south is also closed, completely cutting off the vulnerable section of the country that was struck by an earthquake last year from the capital. According to witnesses, gangs are also increasing their grip in the city’s east, where Croix-des-Bouquets is located, and in the north, surrounding Cité Soleil.

Kidnappings are frequent and indiscriminate, and it is one of Haiti’s few booming businesses. Last year, seventeen American and Canadian missionaries were abducted after visiting an orphanage in Croix-des-Bouquets, and were only freed after a ransom was paid to the 400-strong Mawozo gang.

Elbe told CNN that police, who are often outgunned, are trying their best.

“The gangs’ fighting styles are evolving. It used to be knives, but now it’s large weaponry. The police force must be well-equipped. We’ll do all we can with what we have to battle the gang members “He said.
The difficulty they encounter is shown by a temporary stop put up near Croix-des-Bouquets, where thugs had pulled a truck across a key road and set it on fire.

An armoured military bulldozer is brought in by police to drive the debris to the wayside, which is already strewn with other vehicle corpses. When asked whether he works under fire, the bulldozer operator responds, “Often”
When asked whether he works under fire, the bulldozer operator responds, “Often”.

SWAT officers established a perimeter and began examining adjacent roofs. Locals and their cars are stopped and inspected. One guy describes the scenario as  “bad, very bad,” while another gives him a harsh look.

“We know nothing,” he says abruptly.

Fear is the currency of this fight, but it’s unclear if he’s afraid of speaking to the press, the police, or what the gang could discover later.

To escape this dread, however, additional suffering is required. The island of La Gonave, a hotspot for people trafficking, is a short boat ride from the mainland.

One little inlet on La Gonave’s leisurely cadence and beautiful water betrays its poverty. This world is dominated by heat, garbage, hunger, and the business of leaving.

One, a smuggler named Johnny, quietly described how his operation operates.

The boat’s voyage is often one-way, thus each venture necessitates the purchase of the boat altogether, which he estimates to be about $10,000. Johnny need at least 200 consumers to gather in its ragged shell to pay that expense.

Shreds of netting appear to fill any breaches in the hull, and the boat’s inside will be made out of loose wooden planks. Johnny depicts the final location of the pump and motors.

“If we die, we die. If we make it, we make it,” He said.

He stated that he intended to fill his boat with 250 guests since it was in “good” shape.
The ultimate aim is the United States, with Cuba and the Turks and Caicos Islands sometimes serving as unintentional pit stops along the route.

And it is from these three locations that the International Organization for Migration has documented a surge in forced repatriation of Haitians in the first seven months of this year, with 20,016 so far, compared to 19,629 for the whole year of 2021.

Some Haitians seem to be nearing the conclusion of their voyage, with the US Coast Guard apprehending 6,114 Haitians between October and late June – four times the number apprehended between October 2020 and October 2021. Over the last weekend alone, the US Coast Guard rescued over 330 Haitian migrants near the Florida Keys.

The figures are as startling as the hazards. Previous trips from this inlet have ended in disaster. Johnny is unsure about the final boat’s arrival time, but he is certain about the probable losses: He just planned a vacation that resulted in the deaths of 29 individuals.

“The boat had an engine problem,” he said.”Water got inside the boat. We called for help, but they took too long. The boat was sinking while I was trying to save people. When help came, it was too late.”

While CNN cannot independently authenticate Johnny’s depiction of the scheme, two other locals who claimed they were participating in trafficking separately recounted comparable aspects. Authorities in neighbouring Caribbean countries such as the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos have often reported recovering the corpses of would-be migrants after their boats collapsed in their seas.

Despite the dangers, many Haitians are still looking for a way out. Locals on La Gonave told CNN that at least 40 individuals who planned to take the boat journey were already on the island, with the remainder expected to arrive once Johnny confirmed the boat was ready.

One possible traveller, a university graduate and former teacher, explained why he would risk everything to join the expedition.

“I worked as a teacher, but it did not work out. Now, I am driving a motorcycle every day in the sun and the dust. How will I be able to take care of my family when I have one?”

He claimed to have saved a year’s salary for the trip and was unconcerned about the boat’s shaky state. “I can be eaten by a shark or make it to America.”