Haiti Report, April 18, 2025
A compilation of news about Haiti from the past week.
Federal judge stops Trump administration from deporting a half-million Cubans, others
A federal judge stopped the Trump administration on Monday from rescinding deportation protections and work permits for more than a half-million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who were granted entrance into the United States under a humanitarian parole program during the Biden presidency. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled, after a hearing last week, that the paroled migrants can stay in the United States as they pursue immigration benefits. In effect, her ruling will prevent the Department of Homeland Security’s secretary, Kristi Noem, from revoking their parole status as part of an administration plan to end the humanitarian program on April 24.
“While [Trump administration officials] are correct that the Secretary’s discretion in this area is broad, their conclusion that the Secretary’s actions are wholly shielded from judicial review is incorrect,” Talwani wrote in in a 41-page order filed in Boston federal court.
Talwani said that while her role in reviewing the agency’s revocation order is “limited,” the judge said she has the authority to stay the secretary’s “termination” of parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans because “it revokes, without case-by-case review, previously granted parole and work authorizations for individuals currently in the United States.”
For now, the judge’s ruling signals a major victory for the paroled immigrants from the four countries, who sued the Trump administration in the hope of remaining in the United States for a two-year period. Talwani, in a separate order on Monday, also certified the group as a class. Homeland Security, which could appeal the Boston judge’s ruling, intends to prioritize for deportation those who have not properly filed a request for an immigration benefit to remain lawfully in the U.S. This includes applying for adjustment of status, asylum or Temporary Protected Status. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article304234666.html#storylink=cpy
Haitian Government adopts ‘war budget,’ but overall increase still small
Haiti’s government announced Monday that it approved what it called a “war budget” of $275,000 aimed at alleviating the country’s crisis as gang violence surges. Nearly 40% of the money will go toward Haiti’s police and military “to fight the armed groups that threaten national stability,” while nearly 20% will go to fortify the border the country shares with the Dominican Republic, Haiti’s transitional presidential council said in a statement. Another 16% will go to social programs, including those focused on education, health and humanitarian assistance. The council said the special budget reflects the state’s commitment to act decisively and target the growing insecurity.
The additional money, however, is not expected to alleviate the lack of resources hitting a U.N.-backed mission, led by Kenyan police, which is struggling to help local authorities quell gang violence. Gangs that control at least 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, continue to attack communities surrounding it. Recently, a powerful gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm took control of the towns of Mirebalais and Saut’d’Eau in Haiti’s central region, according to the National Human Rights Defense Network, a local group. Police officers at the Mirebalais police station and local prison fled during the attacks, it said. “Armed gangs then set fire to the police station and took control of the prison, orchestrating a mass escape of the inmates,” the organization said, noting that the prison held 533 inmates.
Staff and patients at the Mirebalais University Hospital also were evacuated. At least 60 people died following the attacks launched on March 30 and 31, including gang members and escaped inmates, according to the human rights group. Meanwhile, the neighboring town of Saut-d’Eau fell to gangs on the afternoon of April 3, activists said.
Haiti’s security forces are getting an additional $33.46 million this year to take on the country’s armed gangs, whose escalating attacks have left communities decimated, police stations in flames and nearly half of the population going hungry. But the increase, announced as part of a revision to the country’s current annual budget, is coming under criticism from political figures and at least one economist because very little of the funding is coming from new revenue. Instead, they money in what the government is labeling a “war budget” is being shifted from other priorities, such as the cleaning of canals in flood-prone communities and agriculture investments, while the government has shown no willingness to reduce its own spending.
“This budget isn’t going to make any difference,” said Clarens Renois, a former journalist and head of the Union Nationale pour l’Intégrité et la Réconciliation party, who says the country’s ruling Transitional Presidential Council is keeping its hefty pay. “If you have a war budget, the first thing you would like to see is the council making the sacrifice and reducing their own salaries. You don’t see any reductions.”
The council, which has been criticized for using intelligence money to fund its salaries in the amended 2024-25 budget, which began on Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30. Aimed at tackling armed gangs and the worsening humanitarian crisis, it described making “a strategic distribution” of $277 million to support the national police and Armed Forces of Haiti. It “reflects the firm will of the State to act decisively on the security, humanitarian and institutional fronts,” the ruling panel said in a statement.
Before Monday’s amended budget was approved by the council of ministers, Haiti’s overall budget was 323.445 billion Haitian gourdes — or $2,488,038,461 in U.S. dollars — for an estimated 12 million people. After the decision was made to increase spending on anti-gang efforts, the new budget was approved at 323.451 billion gourdes, or $2,488,084,615. The difference between the old budget and the new one amounts to an additional $45,831 — a minuscule boost for a nation not only reeling from uncontrolled gang violence but its fallout, which is being felt in the capital of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article304346856.html#storylink=cpy
U.S. to designate Haiti gangs as foreign terrorists, opening way to use Salvador prison
Haitian gangs and individuals financing and arming them could soon find themselves labeled as “terrorists” and imprisoned in El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security prison, the same facility the Trump administration has been sending alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, the Miami Herald has learned. The U.S. State Department, which earlier this year designated the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and seven other criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations, is working on issuing the same designation, or a less severe category —“specially designated global terrorist”— to leaders and members of Haiti’s powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition, and the Gran Grif armed group operating in the country’s rural Artibonite region.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spent a significant amount of time speaking with Caribbean leaders about Haiti’s deepening instability during a visit last month to Jamaica, believes that the ongoing violence, which has left 1 million Haitians one step away from famine and more than a million internally displaced, is both a threat to regional security and U.S. interests. The terrorist designation would extend U.S. jurisdiction to anyone assisting the gangs, from gun and ammunition traffickers to government officials in Haiti financing the groups. Anyone found guilty of assisting the gangs would be regarded as “terrorists” and face harsher penalties, including counter-terrorism sanctions.
“For too long the enablers of Haiti’s brutal gangs, in the U.S., Colombia and elsewhere have gotten away with impunity, but they will now be faced with the criminal consequences of providing material support to terrorism,” a senior State Department official told the Herald. “This includes scenarios where Haitian gang leaders and members could end up at CECOT, alongside fellow designated terrorists from MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.”
The Central American country is currently among a handful of nations fielding soldiers and police officers to help the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission battle gangs in Haiti. While El Salvador reportedly wants to do more to help Haiti dismantle gangs currently pushing the country toward becoming a narco-trafficking state, any transfer of Haitian nationals to CECOT, where prisoners are packed by the hundreds into gigantic stainless steel cells, would need to be approved by Haiti’s justice ministry.
Several Haitian gang leaders are already facing federal criminal charges in the U.S. for the kidnapping of U.S. citizens in Haiti and are wanted by the FBI. Though their capture could lead to their being prosecuted in the U.S., another possibility, a knowledgeable source told the Herald, involves following the playbook involving MS-13 gang members arrested in Virginia: Drop the federal charges so they can quickly be deported to the CECOT prison in El Salvador.
The State Department’s terrorist designation would be a change in U.S. policy toward Haiti. Under the Biden administration, officials steered away from labeling gangs as terrorists even when they opened fire in November on three U.S. jetliners flying over Port-au-Prince. Instead, the State Department relied on visa cancellations and sanctions from the Treasury Department and the United Nations of gang leaders and the Haitian politicians and businessmen accused of financing them.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article304464536.html
Aid cuts mean Haiti will need to do more to shoulder humanitarian response, UN says
As United Nations agencies and other humanitarian aid groups in Haiti continue to feel the effects of global aids cuts, Haiti will need to take a more significant role in its humanitarian response, a top U.N. official says. “Part of the humanitarian response needs to be shouldered by the government,” Ted Chaiban, the deputy director of the U.N.’s leading child welfare agency, UNICEF, told the Miami Herald. Chaiban, whose connection to Haiti dates back to the early 1990s, spent several days in the country recently. He wanted to see first-hand the effects of the ongoing gang violence that has already led to more than 1,500 deaths this year and the destruction of at least 47 schools. He also wanted to see what was being done to help children, who are increasingly caught in the crossfire. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article304002556.html#storylink=cpy
U.S., Caribbean community condemn plans by gangs, allies to overthrow Haiti government
The U.S. State Department and the Caribbean Community are condemning looming threats by a powerful gang coalition in Haiti to escalate violence against residents in an effort to overthrow the country’s transitional government.
“This is completely unacceptable,” the 15-member Caribbean Community regional bloc known as CARICOM said late Sunday, adding that the bloc “strongly condemns any attempt to replace the transitional arrangements by force and violence.” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, in a statement soon after, said “the United States supports the statement by CARICOM condemning any actions to destabilize Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council,” and continues to “consult with governments across the region.”
Both statements came amid imminent threats to the ruling transition amid concerns gangs and their allies are plotting an overthrow. Over the weekend, panic and anxiety across Haiti were high as residents feared vulnerable communities were next to be targeted. Since coming together under the coalitions, gangs have proven themselves to be more mobile and more coordinated, carrying out military-style ambushes far away from their strongholds.
Looming threats about multiple armed attacks planned for the coming days had local authorities around the country sounding the alarm on Saturday. In the south, the region’s top police official, Daniel Compère, issued a letter to his boss in the capital asking for police reinforcements due to reports that former coup leader and convicted U.S. felon Guy Philippe was reportedly preparing an armed attack against the prison in the city of Les Cayes. Philippe later denied being involved in any planned attack against the city, which was battling heavy floods on Sunday.
In the center of the country, where armed gangs are now in control of the city of Mirebalais after storming the rural town late last month, authorities issued pleas for both the neighboring city of Hinche and the Péligre dam. The dam is the country’s largest producer of electricity. Videos circulated by gang leaders on social media warned of a pending attack against Hinche. Another showed scared Haitians inside a church in the town of Mirebalais listening as the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang demanded they return to their homes. The attack in the rural town has left one journalist missing, and the 350-bed University Hospital of Mirebalais, a lifeline for the area, forced to evacuate all its staff and patients.
In a press note, deputy police spokesman Lionel Lazarre announced an investigation into an incident involving several Haitian police assigned to the Kenscoff area. Over Friday and Saturday the officers abandoned their posts along with their uniforms, vehicles and weapons after gang leaders reportedly sent women to trap them by luring them to two houses where they were spending the night.
The officers, members of specialized units assigned to patrol a sensitive area in Kenscoff, were later attacked by gang members while in the houses. Five officers were injured. Gang members later boasted about their loot in a video circulating on social networks. They showed off bulletproof vests, rifles, ammunition and even the ID cards of the officers. Gangs also confiscated tear gas and grenades and identity documents belonging to the cops.
The group urged ”the international community, including the United Nations and the Organization of American States, to take all necessary steps to support the Haitian authorities as they address this crisis.” https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article304160441.html#storylink=cpy
Statement from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
The Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are deeply concerned by recent reports that a coalition of criminal gangs is threatening to seize power and compel a change in the governance arrangements in Haiti at this time. This is completely unacceptable. CARICOM strongly condemns any attempt to replace the transitional arrangements by force and violence. These arrangements were put in place by Haitian stakeholders to pave the way for free and fair elections by February 07, 2026, and to return Haiti to constitutional authority.
Moreover, any further organized violence will only exacerbate the existing humanitarian crisis. The International Organisation on Migration (IOM) reported that in mid-January of this year there were 1,041,000 internally displaced Haitians, some of whom are already risking their lives in attempting to leave by any means necessary. Over the last month alone, close to 60,000 Haitians have been displaced. Increased violence will simply hurt those who are least capable of protecting themselves. This too is completely unacceptable.
In view of the looming threat, CARICOM has been in consultation with Haiti and its international partners to urgently provide further security assistance to Haiti. CARICOM salutes the efforts of the Haitian security forces and the MSS spearheaded by the Kenyans to enforce order and to protect the citizens of Haiti. CARICOM urges the international community, including the United Nations and the Organisation of American States, to take all necessary steps to support the Haitian authorities as they address this crisis.
CARICOM will continue to monitor the situation closely.
US State Department press statement: Support of the Haitian Transitional Government and CARICOM
Following discussions between the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of State with Prime Minister of Barbados and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Mia Mottley, the United States supports the statement by CARICOM condemning any actions to destabilize Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council. The United States supports the efforts by the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission and CARICOM to assist the government in its efforts to bring peace and stability to Haiti in the face of armed criminal gangs. The United States continues to consult with governments across the region. https://www.state.gov/support-of-the-haitian-transitional-government-and-caricom/
Haiti: Women and girls bear the brunt of rising hunger, displacement, and violence
As violence continues in Port-au-Prince and spreads to more areas outside the nation’s capital, a rising number of families have been forced from their homes and are struggling to eat. And as in most hunger crises, it is women and girls who suffer the most.
The latest analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates that 5.7 million people, half of Haiti’s population, are facing acute food insecurity. This represents an increase of 300,000 Haitians experiencing severe hunger since the IPC’s last report on Haiti in August 2024. Driving this, the report finds, are a confluence of factors: armed gang violence, economic shocks, and poor infrastructure. It’s been seven days since I had to flee my home with my children. We’re sleeping under the open sky exposed to the elements. There’s nothing left to sell or buy. We drink from puddles.
“The IPC analysis underscores how the protracted crisis in Haiti is deepening and spreading. In 2014, only 2 percent of Haiti’s population was food insecure. Today, that number has spiked to half the population” said Martin Dickler, CARE’s Country Director in Haiti. “And this is increasing the vulnerability of women and girls. As heads of households, women are often left to manage the family daily survival alone,” Dickler added. “Women and girls suffer disproportionately because they often face greater obstacles to access food and livelihoods. And women in Haiti are also navigating a society with extremely high levels of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, which creates enormous risks in daily life. Moreover, armed violence has forced many educational institutions to shut down, which means girls are out of school and increasingly at risk of exploitation.”
One area of the country that has seen a shocking rise in displacement and hunger is the central region, where insecurity has forced large numbers of people to flee in recent days. The International Organization for Migration estimated that between March 31, 2025 and April 3, 2025, more than 31,000 people have been forced to flee, especially from the towns of Mirebalais and Saut-d’Eau. That number has increased since then due to continued violence. This adds to the more than one million Haitians who have already been displaced within the country, most of whom from Port-au-Prince.
Speaking to a CARE team member outside the town of Mirebalais, *Marie – a mother of two taking refuge from the violence in the hills above the city – said: “It’s been seven days since I had to flee my home with my children. We’re sleeping under the open sky exposed to the elements. There’s nothing left to sell or buy. We drink from puddles. It feels like we’ve gone back to a primitive time.”
“Hunger is getting worse,” said a local community leader in Mirebalais. “Women have no means of livelihood. It’s a silent crisis that keeps on advancing.” This rapid large-scale displacement in the central region, caused by armed attacks, has disrupted supply chains, crippled the economy, destroyed food markets, and cut off access to clean water. The latest IPC analysis also points to rising commodity prices across the country and an inflation rate of 30 percent in February, amidst declining household incomes. All of this severely limits people’s ability to grow and buy food and sustain themselves.
Haitians Facing Bigger Hunger Crisis than after 2010 Earthquake
The National Food Security Coordination (CNSA) presented the results of the updated IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) projection at the Montana Hotel on April 14, 2025. The meeting brought together officials from several ministries and representatives of international organizations such as the FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Ministry of Agriculture. The data released paints an alarming picture: 5.7 million people are currently experiencing acute food insecurity, at levels considered high. This IPC update, based on analyses conducted last August, reflects the country's gradual descent into a deep food crisis.
"The latest IPC analyses highlight a collective failure," said Clément Rouquette, head of the WFP's program unit. He said the report should be interpreted as a call to action to prevent hunger from becoming an additional scourge in a context already marked by exile and instability. FAO representative Valentina G, who witnessed the first steps of the IPC in Haiti, praised the efforts made by the CNSA in terms of coordination, logistics, and monitoring. But she did not hide her concern about the continued deterioration of the situation. "Ten years ago, after the earthquake, only 2% of the population was in phase 4 (emergency). Today, we are at around 20%," she recalled. https://lenouvelliste.com/article/255229/haiti-face-a-la-faim-la-cnsa-presente-les-mises-a-jour-de-lipc
Sleepless weekend for thousands as heavy rains flood Port-au-Prince displacement camp
Displaced families sheltering inside the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications compound after fleeing gang violence are now facing heavy rains in Port-au-Prince. After three days of downpours, they’ve endured sleepless nights, flood-damaged shelters, growing health concerns and unsanitary conditions as they desperately try to stay dry.
The damage from heavy rains is evident from the moment you approach the displacement camp set up on the grounds of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (MTPTC). Internally displaced people (IDPs), forced to flee their homes due to gang violence, have spent several nights standing to push back floodwaters from their makeshift shelters. Despite not being able to sleep the night before, on the early morning of Sunday, April 13, everyone was already awake, hauling gravel, sand and concrete blocks, and digging trenches in a desperate attempt to prepare for yet another night of downpour.
“Whenever it rains, there’s no space for the water to drain — it just rises straight into our shelters,” said a refugee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation while standing ankle-deep in a muddy puddle. “We can only sleep when the rain stops. We moved the children to areas that were somewhat less flooded, but some remained in the water with their parents.” More than 4,000 people are currently living in this facility, according to the camp coordinator, Phora Mondésir. Most fled neighborhoods now overrun by gangs, including Solino, Delmas 30, Clercine and even Kenscoff— a town about 15 miles southeast of the Haitian capital. Many have lost loved ones, homes, belongings and livelihoods in the ongoing violence. Their stories speak to the broader displacement crisis unfolding in Haiti’s capital, where escalating violence continues to uproot thousands. Still, despite their current struggles, many long to return home. https://haitiantimes.com/2025/04/14/haiti-weekeend-of-rains-deprive-thousands-displaced-of-sleep/
Attacks Continue as criminal groups approach Kenscoff town centre
The commune of Kenscoff was once again the target of gang attacks over the past weekend. A first offensive by the criminals was recorded during the night of Friday, April 11 to Saturday, April 12, in the area of Godet. The mayor of the commune, Massillon Jean, confirmed this information on Magik 9 on Saturday morning, noting that police officers had been injured. The gang members released a video in which weapons, rifles and handguns, ammunition, and bulletproof vests worn by the routed police officers could be seen.
Later, on Saturday, April 12, PNH deputy spokesperson Lionel Lazarre stated that these officers, stationed on the front line in Kenscoff, had abandoned their positions, vehicles, uniforms, and weapons to attend intimate appointments. At least one officer released a voice message denying the spokesperson’s claims, explaining that the gang members had taken advantage of the fog covering the area to launch a surprise attack against law enforcement. Le Nouvelliste learned that the gang launched another attack during the night of Sunday, April 13 to Monday, April 14. Intense gunfire was heard starting around 10 p.m. Sunday and continued until 6 a.m. Monday. The localities of Godet, Boukan, Nan Jaden, and Madeleine were attacked. Several homes were set on fire. Panicked, some residents from the neighboring areas of Fermathe and Thomassin fled their homes. Calm returned by midday following police interventions. However, public transportation was paralyzed, and schools in the area remained closed. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/255253/gang-attacks-persist-in-kenscoff-as-criminal-groups-gain-ground
Criminal groups grouped within the criminal coalition "Viv ansanm" launched a new attack against the town of Kenscoff on the night of April 17-18, 2025. They approached near the Maroca intersection, very close to the town center where the Catholic church, the police station, and the town hall are located. Reached by telephone this Good Friday, the mayor of the town, Massillon Jean, explained to Le Nouvelliste that the criminals are close to taking over the town.
"They are carrying out their threat. We were able to repel them last night thanks to police intervention. But the situation is very difficult and very complicated at the moment," the mayor explained. "The fighting is very intense. There is a lot of shooting. There are a lot of bandits," he continued. According to the mayor, most of the city center's residents have already fled their homes. "The population is panicking. Residents of the city center, Platon Café, and Maroca have fled. Fear is taking hold in the community," he revealed, calling on government authorities to assume their responsibility for a return to peace in Kenscoff.
Since Monday, January 27, 2025, the town of Kenscoff has been under constant threat from armed gangs spreading terror in several localities. According to a report published Monday by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), attacks carried out over the past two months in Kenscoff have left at least 262 dead and 66 injured. Since the attacks began, despite police intervention, the bandits continue to expand their control of the town. The police remain on the defensive. And the bandits still have the initiative in the offensives. https://lenouvelliste.com/article/255398/les-groupes-criminels-sapprochent-du-centre-ville-de-kenscoff
In Mirebalais, gangs loot businesses
After multiple unanswered calls from the PNH, Mirebalais's shopkeepers have resigned themselves to the idea of giving in to the "Viv Ansanm" gangs. For more than 72 hours, every business in the heart of the commune has been looted. Every day, trucks filled with construction materials, food products, household goods, and car parts travel along National Highway 3, leaving Mirebalais to supply the gangs' strongholds in Canaan and Croix-des-Bouquets, reports political activist Robinson Mazarin with a heavy heart. https://rezonodwes.com/?p=355821
IOM warns of mass exodus and calls for urgent response
Visiting Haiti last week, IOM Director General Amy Pope issued an urgent appeal to the international community. "Immediate action is needed to protect these families, provide them with shelter, access to water, health care, and education," she said. As the security crisis worsens, the humanitarian consequences are becoming more dramatic by the day. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than one million people are currently internally displaced due to the violence. IOM continues to operate in more than 50 locations across the country. The organization provides temporary shelter, emergency humanitarian assistance, and psychosocial support to displaced people. However, its resources are limited, and the needs far exceed current capacities. https://metropole.ht/loim-alerte-sur-un-exode-massif-et-demande-une-reponse-urgente/
Haiti taps controversial BSAP forces to fight gangs; critics warn of past abuses
Officials from the Security of Protected Areas Brigade (BSAP) say they have not received details on how the Transitional Presidential Council's decision to integrate them into Haiti’s national security plan will be implemented. The resolution calls for BSAP to assist in combating armed gangs alongside the country’s security forces. While they welcome the move, it comes amid strong criticism of the brigade and ongoing concerns over its lack of transparency.
Haiti’s Security of Protected Areas Brigade (BSAP), a paramilitary force created without clear legal oversight, has reportedly been infiltrated by gang-affiliated actors and long operated in legal gray zones. Despite this, BSAP agents across the country say they are ready to join the fight against gangs following a controversial government decree to integrate them into national security operations.
The April 3 directive from Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) calls for the incorporation of BSAP into law enforcement efforts, pending conduct evaluations. But the move has sparked alarm among human rights advocates and political leaders, who point to the brigade’s murky origins, inconsistent command structure, and lack of training standards as serious red flags.
Formed from former FAD’H soldiers, the BSAP was launched to protect wildlife and support reforestation. Although it officially listed just over 100 members in 2021, its actual size remains unclear. The 2024–2025 budget accounts for only 41 environmental agents under ANAP — the agency overseeing BSAP — yet estimates suggest thousands wear the uniform without any public recruitment process.
ANAP operates on a $1.65 million budget, but it’s unclear how much, if any, is directed to BSAP. In Gonaïves, officials refused to disclose membership figures, while regional leaders reported around 300 members in the Northwest and 600 in the Northeast. During a recent April 3 census, Northeast officials were caught presenting fake badges and uniforms, according to administrator Mislaire Jean-Pierre. https://haitiantimes.com/2025/04/16/protected-area-agents-eager-to-fight-gangs-but-their-role-remains-unclear/
Nearly 15,000 Haitians expelled in 12 days, according to Dominican authorities
In a statement released this Sunday, the Directorate General of Migration (DGM) reported 14,874 expulsions of undocumented Haitians during the first twelve days of April. The organization states that these expulsions are part of its efforts to strengthen immigration control in the Dominican Republic. This tightening, the document states, is the result of the intensification of interdiction brigade operations, supported by the recent integration of 160 rapid action agents. These new agents, the DGM specifies, were trained with the support of the armed forces and other security institutions in the country.
"This initiative also corresponds to the expansion of the operational capacity of the DGM, as ordered by President Luis Abinader to address the risks that illegal immigration poses to the security, stability and well-being of the Dominican people," the statement said. The DGM reports that 176 operations were conducted, leading to the arrest of 9,393 Haitian nationals. The other 5,481 deportees were apprehended by other security agencies, in coordination with the DGM. These figures are part of a context of increasingly rigid migration policy implemented by the Dominican authorities, particularly with regard to Haitian migrants.
Explosive drones are back
The task force created by the Prime Minister's Office and the CPT launched attacks using explosive drones on Monday, April 14, 2025. These operations targeted bandit positions in downtown Port-au-Prince, particularly on Capois Street, near the Sylvio Cator Stadium, near Village de Dieu, on Avenue N, and near Grand-Ravine. Residents reported to Le Nouvelliste that they heard loud explosions in the early morning and late afternoon. Gunfire was also reported after the explosions. A source close to the Prime Minister's office told the newspaper that the task force was conducting operations in Port-au-Prince. This source confirmed the use of drones by the said structure. "Yes, the task force is working. Interventions were launched this morning and will continue," this contact told the newspaper. According to him, drone launch operations had been suspended for a strategy review. "We now want to launch the drones with precise intelligence for greater results," this source explained to Le Nouvelliste. This contact was unable to provide an assessment of the day's operations.
https://lenouvelliste.com/article/255255/les-drones-explosifs-sont-de-retour
Mental Health Emergency Unfolds in Haiti
All across Haiti—and even within the Haitian diaspora—a dominant feeling prevails: FEAR. This emotion is not simply a reaction to an isolated event but the manifestation of a collective psychological trauma. The country is living under the cumulative effect of repeated traumatic events: kidnappings, armed clashes, looting, massacres, forced displacement, sexual violence, and more. The repetition and intensity of these events result in what the psychological literature refers to as complex trauma.
According to psychologist Robens Doly, when interviewed by the newsroom, “complex trauma is a form of prolonged trauma, particularly destructive because it erodes emotional, social, and identity landmarks,” explained the departmental coordinator of the Organization for Development and the Fight Against Poverty (ODELPA). “Extreme violence feeds a state of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with typical symptoms: hypervigilance, insomnia, recurring nightmares, intrusive flashbacks, anxiety and depressive disorders,” explained the specialist, who has worked with survivors of violence for nearly eight years.
“Every day, the same scenes replay before my eyes, and even in my dreams, they give me no rest,” said Simone, 35, living in a displaced persons camp on Route de Frères in Pétion-Ville. “I try to find some comfort at church; sometimes I hear music, I pray,” she shared. “I refuse to believe that God will let me die in such conditions,” she hoped, adding that she keeps running—and that simply being safe for now doesn’t mean someone won’t come drag her out at any moment.
Haitians are not just experiencing episodic crises but prolonged exposure to stress and threat. Residents—especially in the capital—witness extreme violence, continue to lose friends and family, live in nightly terror from automatic gunfire, and flee their homes in panic.
“Children are especially vulnerable. Exposed early to fear, they are at risk of developing attachment issues, learning difficulties, anxiety-depressive disorders, or mutism and withdrawal,” warned the mental health professional, stressing that such trauma can permanently affect a child’s cognitive and emotional development.
“I lost friends, everything I owned was destroyed,” complained Antoine, 36, with despair on his face. The CEDREF refugee from Delmas 75 described having lived through hell. “Three times I had to flee; I sought refuge in a part of Carrefour-Feuilles. I ran through gunfire with my two children to reach a displacement camp. A few days after we arrived, gangs came after us again. Then I fled to a friend’s house in Tabarre, and about a month later, the same thing happened. I barely managed to escape by a miracle,” he recalled, eyes brimming with tears. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/255204/mental-health-emergency-unfolds-in-haiti
Resurgence of cholera cases in Port-au-Prince: camps affected in Bourdon
At least eight confirmed cases have reportedly been recorded in the three displacement camps located on the Bourdon road. Positive cases have also been reported in other makeshift camps where people are living in overcrowded conditions and shockingly unsanitary conditions. Positive cases are also being reported in other makeshift camps where people are living in close quarters and shockingly unsanitary conditions. Many are calling on the authorities to take measures to remedy the situation in order to avoid the worst. But more than that, citizens are demanding the restoration of security so that they can return, in peace, to the neighborhoods they had abandoned because of gang violence. A resurgence of cholera has also been reported in the commune of Cité Soleil, where recent downpours have caused flooding in several neighborhoods. https://lequotidiendhaiti.com/?p=19911
France forced Haiti to pay for independence. 200 years later, should there be restitution?
Two centuries ago this month, France pulled off one of history’s greatest armed extortions: After the first three leaders of a newly freed Haiti refused to cave in to hefty French demands to compensate its former slave-holders in exchange for recognition of its freedom, the European power finally succeeded in getting its demands met.
With a fleet of offshore French ships aiming their guns at Haiti, President Jean-Pierre Boyer, who would reunite a divided Haiti after the tragic and sudden deaths of King Henry Christophe in the north and President Alexandre Pétion in the south, bowed to French pressure and agreed to pay 150 million gold francs. On April 17, 1825, France’s King Charles X officially imposed the ransom for the country’s independence. It stipulated Haiti would pay the massive sum to “compensate former colonists” who lost their property, including slaves, in exchange for recognition of its independence.
The story of Haiti’s debt has long been dismissed in France, whose wealth was partly built on the backs of enslaved Africans and their descendants who were brought to work the fields of what was then its richest — and harshest — slave colony, Saint Domingue. Instead of being described as a ransom payment, the debt and the French king’s gunboat extortion were framed as emancipating the slaves who, after defeating the world’s most powerful army, declared the new nation of Haiti on Jan. 1, 1804.
Last week, after decades of distorted narratives, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would announce “several memory initiatives” to “keep alive the memory of slavery throughout the national territory, as in Haiti.” He chose as the date to do this April 17, the 200th anniversary of France’s recognition of Haiti’s independence and the date of King Charles’ imposition of the debt.
Macron’s announcement comes as demand has grown for greater recognition of what France’s “independence debt” did to Haiti’s development. It also comes amid a debate about reparations, and whether there should be financial restitution for the debt.
“What is most important for us is not the symbolic recognition. What’s most fundamental is restitution and reparations,” said Bildadson Cadelus, a member of Haiti’s National Committee on Restitution and Reparations. “When people tell me, Haiti is a failed state, I say ‘No, Haiti is a state that was made to fail.’ There’s a huge difference,” author and historian Marlene Daut said. Like many historians, Daut says she has been thinking a lot about what restorative justice should look like. The conversation around restitution in the Caribbean is not unique to Haiti.
Sir Hillary Beckles, a professor at the University of the West Indies who years ago raised the issue around restitution from England, Spain, Portugal and France to its former colonies in the region, has argued for assistance with development As chairman of the Caricom Reparations Commission, Beckles has introduced a 10-point plan that calls not just for a formal apology by the governments of former slave-holding European nations, but for investments to help address the public health crisis in the Caribbean. He argues, for example, that the Caribbean population’s high incidence of chronic disease in the form of diabetes and hypertension is linked to the diets of slaves, introduced by the colonizers, and continues to have lingering effects today.
“I’ve been involved in conversations with people who talk about restorative justice, and yes, there can be and usually there is some form of monetary compensation, but there are also other ways to provide restorative justice,” Daut said. “There’s so many things that could go into this,” she added. “It’s building infrastructure, asking people and figuring out what people need and bringing it to them. Not from a standpoint of aid, but of restorative justice. Because that’s different.” https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article304399196.html#storylink=cpy
OPINION/ANALYSIS
Haiti’s Gangs Have Evolved. The United States Will Pay the Price
Opinion by Pierre Espérance, executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network in Haiti, in the New York Times.
Almost every night, I get phone calls from people in areas of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, under attack by gangs. “Please ask the police to send officers,” one friend said. “Please help me. We’re going to die!” he told me.
Haiti’s emergency phone line, our 911, is pretty useless — often, no one even answers. The police are spread thin and outgunned by murderous gangs, which are taking over new neighborhoods and importing arms and ammunition from the United States. A Kenyan-led international force, supported by the United States and the United Nations, provides help inconsistently.
So people seek assistance anywhere they can, including from me, the director of a human rights organization living in Port-au-Prince. For years, my organization has pushed for police reform, and I have contacts throughout the force. What can I do? I phone police operations coordinators around the capital and tell them people need help. Sometimes when I call, the police intervene. Other times, they are tied up with fighting elsewhere. People I know have run through gunfire to escape a gang attack because no one was coming to rescue them.
If the Trump administration is serious about its goal of making the United States safer and more prosperous, with tighter control on migration, it cannot stop engaging in places like Haiti.
Since last spring, when gangs in Haiti banded together to attack the government, they have mostly stopped fighting one another for neighborhood control and instead work as a united front to rape, torture and kill. Gangs also fight the police and jointly seize territory. They have attacked hospitals, pharmacies, schools and banks. Gang leaders are finding new ways to block security forces, by digging ditches in tracks and drilling holes into walls to sneak into buildings. They also hide weapons on donkeys’ backs, placing the ammunition inside drums used to carry water and fuel.
The Haitian government is too compromised to confront them effectively. For years, government officials have paid off and armed gang members in exchange for protection and intimidating their rivals. International sanctions against Haitian officials show the ubiquity of government ties to gangs, corruption and drug and arms trafficking. Sanctions from the United States and Canada have targeted some of the most powerful people in Haiti, including two former presidents, three former prime ministers and several cabinet ministers. Now even the new transition council, which took office under an agreement brokered last spring with support from the United States, includes three members who have been accused of bribery and were summoned to appear in court on those charges.
The transition council members also seem more focused on squabbling among themselves than on vanquishing the gangs. Police officials tell me they lack ammunition, tear gas, drones, armored vehicles and spare parts. They say they do not have sufficient personnel or training. The prime minister and transition council members have told me for months they are working on it — but nothing changes, except for the escalation of gang attacks.
Amid all of this, the United States has suddenly cut off aid that was keeping many Haitians alive. Few places in the world were as dependent on the United States Agency for International Development as Haiti was. The agency has spent hundreds of millions of dollars annually for years on health, food and education — including, for instance, funding about 40 percent of the primary health care Haitians receive. The Trump administration has also begun to dismantle another federal agency, the Inter-American Foundation, that aids Haiti.
I acknowledge that such aid programs have had deep problems. U.S.A.I.D. has often been wasteful and ineffective, and it has undermined Haitian farmers and businesses, as well as the government’s authority. U.S. officials have intervened in Haitian elections, helping to disqualify one candidate and advance another, and U.S.-funded infrastructure projects have failed to deliver results. The U.S.-backed international force has not quelled gang attacks.
But the impact of this lightning-fast withdrawal of U.S. foreign aid funds is brutal. Thousands of Haitians have lost access to health care. Lunch programs for children in schools have closed for lack of food. Now, when families come to my office to report gang attacks, they often haven’t eaten in days. We refer them to U.N. programs that provide food, but there’s not enough. They often need urgent medical care, after suffering rape or other injuries, and have no place to sleep. We no longer have places to send them.
The Trump administration moved to end eligibility for protected status for about half a million Haitians living in the United States and cut a humanitarian visa program for thousands more. In recent years, many Haitians fled to the United States with visas because gang members threatened their lives, killed their relatives and destroyed their homes. If their protected status is removed and they are deported to Haiti, they will have no one to receive them and no place to stay. More than a million people are already internally displaced.
The lack of stability in Haiti will affect other countries, too. More Haitians will almost certainly flee — to the United States, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. Haitian gangs’ unchecked expansion beyond their neighborhood bases into transnational drug markets and criminal networks is already bringing illicit drugs to the United States. Some gang leaders have made political demands, announced the formation of political parties and even threatened to overthrow the government. This renders Haiti’s politics even more volatile and makes Haitian gangs a greater threat to other Caribbean countries and the United States.
There’s a lot the United States can do. It should continue to support the vetting, training and equipping of Haiti’s struggling police force and shattered judiciary. U.S. officials should ramp up the inspection of shipments destined for Haiti to end the traffic of arms and ammunition and prosecute anyone who breaks U.S. laws trafficking arms and drugs to and from Haiti. American officials should also press the government to create and enforce anticorruption policies.
These days in Port-au-Prince, we are teetering on the edge of a total gang takeover. At night, as gangs go on the offensive, many parts of the city are dark because fighting has largely cut electricity. My friends and colleagues stay awake, terrified, listening to the gun battles and texting one another.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the United States will continue to fund the Kenyan-led force intended to support the police. “We will help,” he told reporters at a February news conference in Santo Domingo. If Mr. Rubio really wants to help, he should make it U.S. policy to weaken gangs and strengthen Haitian institutions. In the middle of the night, people should be able to call the police and get help. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/opinion/haiti-gangs-usaid.html?unlocked_article_code=1._04.XaPB.PopSKnwLU_sP&smid=nytcore-android-share