Haiti in social meltdown

Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world, is in catastrophic crisis. The capital, Port-au-Prince, has been taken over by gangs and much of the central state and economic life has ceased to function. The main airport has closed. Petrol and food are difficult to find.

The immediate roots of this crisis lie in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021 and its aftermath. Ariel Henry took over as acting president on 20 July 2021 and has refused to help an investigation into Moise’s killing. He is suspected of involvement.

Henry is widely disliked. He has regularly promised new elections and to restore the rule of law, but has failed to do either.

On 25 February Henry left the country for Guyana and later flew to Kenya where he was attempting to get agreement to send 1,000 Kenyan police to Haiti to stabilise government control. Henry was unable to re-enter Haiti following a rising by criminal gangs which closed the international airport and freed 4,000 prisoners from Haiti’s two largest prisons.

The gangs took over government buildings, set fire to a police station, and forced the port to close.

On Monday 11 March Ariel Henry announced he would step,down, “immediately after the installation of (a transition) council”. That has yet to happen. Henry is stranded in Puerto Rico.

The gangs, acting as a coordinated political force and led by a former police officer, Jimmy Cherizier, also known as Barbecue, have demanded Henry’s resignation. The gangs want an amnesty for their members.

Traditionally, Haitian gangs have been run by local politicians. But recently they have become untethered and often operate for themselves, raising money by kidnapping and extortion.

According to al Jazeera, gang violence has forced more than 362,000 Haitians from their homes, largely in and around the capital of Port-au-Prince. Many are now living in tents. One million people, from a population of 11.5mn, are on the verge of famine.

The dangerous streets in and around the capital are littered with burnt-out vehicles and dead bodies.

The UN policy is for a “multinational stabilisation force” to be deployed, but UN Human Rights Commissioner, Volker Türk, rightly stresses that, “enhancing security alone will not bring long-lasting solutions… Widespread corruption and dysfunction of the justice system greatly contribute to grave human rights violations, and they need to be addressed urgently. Accountability is paramount to restore public trust in the rule of law and the state institutions.”

However outside interventions have often made matters worse for Haitians, not better. Haiti was occupied by the US from 1915 to 1934. The US occupation aimed to protect American investments in Haiti. During this period the brutal US regime introduced a system of forced labour similar to slavery.

Later, in the 1960s and 70s, the US propped up a police-state dictatorship in Haiti run by Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, and after 1971, by his son, Jean-Claude or “Baby Doc”. The Duvaliers used a militia known as Tonton Macoute to rule through terror. During the Cold War the US wanted an anti-Communist regime in Haiti and was not bothered too much about how Haiti was governed as long as it was a US ally.

Francois Duvalier built up the ultra-violent Tonton Macoute because he did not trust the existing army not to organise a coup against him. He repeatedly purged the army and often had its leadership shot. The current Haitian army barely exists and is effectively useless. The only partially functioning repressive state force is the police, which the US is currently attempting to strengthen by inserting American advisors in key units.

After February 1986 and the fall of the Duvalier dynasty some Tonton Macoute thugs regrouped in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, where they were used occasionally to bust union organisation in the sweatshop factories in Haiti, which were producing clothes for the international market.

In January 2010 Haiti suffered a 7.0 magnitude earthquake which destroyed much of Port-au-Prince, killed over 220,000 people and left a million homeless. Even before the earthquake, 54% of the population was living in “abject poverty” and 80% below the poverty line.

The botched international response to the earthquake disaster produced a series of new scandals. UN soldiers dumped contaminated sewage into a river and created a cholera epidemic which killed 10,000 people and infected 800,000.

Haiti had been cholera-free, and the UN introduced the disease onto the island. In 2016 the UN promised compensation and aid, which many local people claim has still not been forthcoming.

And workers from the aid charity Oxfam were also accused of hiring victims of the earthquake as sex workers, preying on the very vulnerable.

A probably seriously rigged Presidential election in 2010-11 was signed-off by international observers. Michel Martelly became President until his resignation in 2016. He was repeatedly accused of corruption and involvement with gangs. The Canadian government has sanctioned Martelly, accusing him of “gross and systematic human rights violations in Haiti.”

Foreign intervention in Haiti has often ended badly, and is, consequently, generally unpopular. However, that view seems to have changed in recent weeks as the situation in the country has become unbearable. Popular Haitian opinion seems to be that although outside help is needed, aid needs to empower the local population, and build local structures, not to be imposed on them.

U.S. officials estimate that there are 300 gangs with a combined membership of 7,200. The UN reckons that 1,554 people have been killed, and 826 injured, this year (before 22 March) in gang-related violence.

In response to the criminal-organised mayhem and ineffective policing local “self-defence” militias have emerged. The UN reports that “at least 528 cases of lynching were reported in 2023, and a further 59 in 2024.”

A vigilante movement called Bwa Kale emerged last year after groups of citizens burnt 12 alleged gang members to death. On 20 March two suspected gang members, including a leader known as Makandal, were killed and set on fire by Bwa Kale. Makandal’s home was then burnt down.

The UN’s latest report argues that 5,000 foreign police need to be deployed in Haiti to support the remnants of the Haitian police force. Kenya has offered to lead, but is waiting for funding and a new government. The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, and Chad have also pledged police.

Even at best such police may well not stabilise the situation. More is needed than repression of gang violence, and these police do not know the country, and most do not speak French.