Haiti Report, January 24, 2025
A compilation of news about Haiti from the past week.
Warnings about gangs and the political situation at UN Security Council meeting
Gangs in Haiti could overrun the capital, Port-au-Prince, leading to a complete breakdown of government authority without additional international support for the beleaguered national police, the United Nations chief warned. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report released to coincide with a Security Council meeting Wednesday on the deteriorating situation in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country that “time is of the essence.” Further delays in providing the police with additional officers for the multinational force trying to curb gang violence or additional assistance “carry the risk of a catastrophic collapse of national security institutions,” he said. “This could allow the gangs to overrun the entire metropolitan area, resulting in a complete breakdown of state authority and rendering international operations, including those to support communities in need, in the country untenable,” Guterres said.
https://apnews.com/article/un-haiti-gangs-police-security-officers-f3d3997af406930c3887a78b90a251eb
The head of the United Nations says there is a possibility that Haiti’s crisis-wracked political transition, already in its fourth year since the 2021 murder of the country’s president, may not meet its elections timeline to restore democracy and put a new president in office by February of 2026. U.N. Secretary-General António Guerres made the observation in his latest report to members of the U.N. Security Council, who met on Wednesday as part of their regular quarterly updates on the deteriorating crisis in Haiti. Guterres said that while a nine-member Transitional Presidential Council, made up of representatives of Haitian political parties and civil society groups, had made some progress by naming a provisional elections body to stage the vote, the political progress was threatened by setbacks.
With progress on the transition map “worryingly slow,” there is a risk that Haiti could fail to complete the steps outlined in a governance pact that was agreed upon in March of last year to put a new president in office by February, Guterres said. “Simply put, the goal of restoring democratic institutions by February 2026 is in jeopardy,” he said. “Disagreements among authorities and stakeholders on power-sharing and ways to strengthen transitional governance have hindered progress. Ongoing allegations of corruption risk further eroding public trust in the political transition.” If the elections do not take place on time, the question then becomes what happens to the current transitional government. Haiti’s elections experts have said under the best of circumstances it takes 8 to 18 months to stage a vote.
On Wednesday, as Security Council members condemned the escalating brutal acts of violence and called for more financial assistance for the under-resourced and under funded Kenya-led security mission, they also noted that the crisis engulfing the transition is also affecting elections. “We see that the Transitional Presidential Council has failed to convince the Haitians of its legitimacy and effectiveness,” Russian Federation representative Vassily Nebenzia, said. “The prospects for holding general elections within the agreed time frame are illusory.”
James Kariuki, the United Kingdom’s deputy permanent representative to the U.N., said the violence and political instability are having a profound effect on Haitian lives. “At least one Haitian was killed, kidnapped or injured every hour as a result of gang violence in 2024,” he said. “Gangs continue to use executions, kidnappings and sexual violence as tools of oppression against civilians.
Geng Shuang, deputy permanent representative of the People’s Republic of China to the U.N. said the “incessant fights among parties and factions, announced acts of abuse of power and corruption” are rendering the goal of completing the transition “elusive.” “The long standing absence of legitimate authorities and vacuum inside governance have plundered Haiti into vicious external support and jeopardize the confidence of the Haitian people and the international community’s prospects. “
“The transitional government should prioritize governance over competing personal and political interests. Now is not the time for political infighting,” Dorothy Camille Shea, the United States’ representative on the council said. Shea reiterated the U.S.’s calls for the transitional council to set conditions for free and fair elections. “We strongly encourage Haitian efforts aimed at addressing corruption allegations and promoting transparency and accountability. These measures are essential for the transition government to maintain the trust of the Haitian people,” she said.
One dead, other wounded in attack on consular vehicles
A day after opening fire on an armored U.S. embassy van and wounding a local hire, armed gangs in Haiti on Tuesday fired on three vehicles, two of them armored and fitted with diplomatic plates, and left five people injured with gunshot wounds and a sixth person dead, a local security firm said. Among the injured is a family member of the honorary consul of India, who was shot in the leg when the armored vehicle she was riding in was fired on. Two other vehicles also were shot up as they traveled along the Airport Road in Port-au-Prince, according to a report by Halo Solutions, which tracks security incidents in the volatile Caribbean nation. One of the drivers suffered an abdominal wound and is in critical condition, while the other sustained injuries to the leg and is in stable condition. A third vehicle, which wasn’t armored, was also hit with gunfire, killing a female passenger. The driver and another passenger escaped and the car was set on fire, the firm said. The survivors later showed up at La Paix Hospital, which wasn’t too far from the attack, with gunshot injuries.
“This attack occurred during routine travel, underscoring vulnerabilities in the route,” the firm said, highlighting the targeting of armored vehicles with consular corps or diplomatic license plates in Port-au-Prince over a 24 hour-span. The attacks all seem to have occurred in the vicinity of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport. Security experts have called for more attention to be given to area after armed gangs in November fired on three U.S. commercial jetliners, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to issue an ongoing ban against U.S. airlines flying into Port-au-Prince. “Initial reports suggest that these attacks were retaliatory actions by gang members in response to recent police and Multinational Security Support (MSS) operations,” the firm said. “High-risk areas include Terre Noire, specifically between Barbancourt and Route 9, the vicinity around the U.S. embassy, and La Paix near Visa Lodge.”
US updated Security Alert for Haiti
As of January 23, 2025, commercial air traffic at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince remains severely limited. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has prohibited all U.S. air carriers and commercial operators from flying into Port-au-Prince. However, commercial air carriers are operating daily flights between Cap-Haitien and Miami, Florida, as well as to other destinations in the Caribbean.
American Citizen Services: The U.S. government is not currently arranging departures for U.S. citizens. As commercial options to depart Haiti safely become available, we urge U.S. citizens to take advantage of them. The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince has been on limited staffing since July 28, 2023. The staff reduction limits our ability to provide routine consular services, but the Embassy continues to assist U.S. citizens in Haiti.
https://ht.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-port-au-prince-haiti-january-23-2025/
Fuel terminal in Port-au-Prince blocked again
The Varreux oil terminal was not operational on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, Le Nouvelliste has learned. "The terminal did not operate today due to blocked access at Gonaïves station and other points," a source told the newspaper. "It seems that a change in the leadership of the Cité Soleil mayor's office is at the root of the issue. I don't have further details," explained the source, when asked about the reason for the gangs blocking the roads leading to the terminal.
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252678/gangs-shut-down-the-varreux-terminal-once-more
Trump issues executive orders on immigration and border enforcement
The Trump administration is giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials the power to quickly deport migrants who were allowed into the country temporarily under Biden-era programs, according to an internal government memo obtained by The New York Times. The memo, signed Thursday night by the acting head of the Homeland Security Department, offers ICE officials a road map on how to use expansive powers that were long reserved only for encounters at the southern border to quickly remove migrants. It also appears to give the officials the ability to expel migrants in two major Biden-era programs that have allowed more than a million people to enter the country temporarily.
Those programs — an app called CBP One that migrants could use to try to schedule appointments to enter the United States, and an initiative that let in certain migrants fleeing Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti — were key pillars of the Biden administration’s efforts to discourage illegal entries by allowing certain legal pathways. Immigrant advocates also worried that the memo could apply to Afghan and Ukrainian immigrants brought to the United States under separate programs. The decision indicates that President Trump will try to use every facet of the immigration enforcement apparatus to crack down on a system he has long said has been abused, and that he intends to target not just those who sneaked across the border but even those who followed previously authorized pathways to enter. In total, around 1.4 million migrants entered the country through the two programs since the beginning of 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/us/politics/trump-immigrants-deportation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rk4.2ms3.Zq89Kr9saG3H&smid=url-share
President Trump is slashing a program that was used by the Biden administration to temporarily allow the entrance of more than half a million migrants fleeing Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. In an executive order signed Monday evening, Trump instructed the Department of Homeland Security to "terminate all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States established in my Executive Orders," including the humanitarian parole program for those four countries. “One of my most important obligations is to protect the American people from the disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration and resettlement," Trump said in the order. "My Administration will marshal all available resources and authorities to stop this unprecedented flood of illegal aliens into the United States." https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/nx-s1-5268986/trump-humanitarian-parole-immigration
Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant, released a statement Tuesday noting the decision to flood South Florida and other U.S. maritime borders with more Coast Guard members and assets is in adherence with Trump’s executive order on border security. Lunday said he has directed the agency’s operational commanders to surge “cutters, aircraft, boats and deployable specialized forces” to the Florida Straits “to deter and prevent a maritime mass migration from Haiti and/or Cuba.”
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article298934440.html#storylink=cpy
Information about Trump deportation operations in Haiti kreyòl
Featuring Attorney Nicole Phillips. Donald Trump lanse Operasyon Depòtasyon an mas la apre l fin monte sou pouvwa a - Polis Imigrasyon ak ladwan ICE yo mobilize - imigran san papye ak imigran ki gen dosye kriminèl nan kouri. Etadijans sou fwontyè Sid la. Trump fèmen Pwogram Biden nan, CBP-one ak azil. Kisa ou dwe konnen? Ki estrateji avoka imigrasyon yo? Eske Trump ap reyisi? sitiyasyon sa bay Global Media 29 ansanm ak avoka imigrasyon Nicolel Philipps anpil trisès pou frè ak sè ayisyen nou yo. https://youtu.be/hnpI5DLTamU?si=vvMUyMUoRSTdR0ek
Trump suspends foreign development assistance; State Dept issues stop work order on US aid
In an Executive Order on January 20, “REEVALUATING AND REALIGNING UNITED STATES FOREIGN AID”, Trump ordered a ”90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy” while “Reviews of each foreign assistance program shall be ordered by the responsible department and agency heads under guidelines provided by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of Office of Management and Budget (OMB).” https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/reevaluating-and-realigning-united-states-foreign-aid/
The newly installed director of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance sent a global cable Friday that orders an immediate pause on new foreign aid spending, as well as a stop-work order for existing grants and contracts. United States aid officials and experts who reviewed the document told Devex that the new guidance intensifies U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, which placed a 90-day pause on aid spending and could sow “chaos” throughout U.S. aid programs.
Spirit Flights still indefinitely suspended
After pausing operations in Haiti last November, Spirit Airlines had flights available from Cap-Haitien to Fort Lauderdale and back scheduled for March but the airline told The Haitian Times that they have yet to set a date for flights resumption in the Caribbean country. “Our service at Port-au-Prince (PAP) and Cap-Haitien (CAP) remains suspended until further notice,” Tommy Fletcher, Spirit’s senior media relations specialist, told The Haitian Times via email on Jan. 23. Spirit does not have flights available for March anymore but for April. However, as Fletcher said, Spirit’s operations in Haiti remains suspended until further notice. It is unclear why the company has flights available online when it is suspended in Haiti until further notice. Because flights were available online for March, many Haitian news outlets reported that Spirit will resume operations in Haiti that month.
https://haitiantimes.com/2025/01/23/spirit-airlines-haiti-cap-haitien/
Visit of Colombian President to Jacmel
Colombian President Gustavo Petro visited Haiti on Wednesday as part of a whirlwind trip to strengthen ties with the violence-wracked country. He was expected to meet with officials and talk about potential joint projects focused on sectors including agriculture, technology and the economy, according to a statement from Petro’s office. Petro arrived in the southern coastal city of Jacmel, bypassing the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, whose main international airport remains void of commercial air traffic ever since gangs opened fire on several airlines in November.
According to testimonies gathered by Le Nouvelliste, the temporary improvements for Petro’s visit contrast sharply with the economic hardships caused by deteriorating security conditions along National Highway 2 and the government’s neglect of Jacmel. Wilner Content, a former deputy for Jacmel, criticized the situation, stating that the Southeast department has suffered from both insecurity and state disregard. “In over 20 years, no new roads have been built in this department. The residents of Côtes-de-Fer don’t have a road to reach Jacmel. It’s the same for the people of Cayes-Jacmel, Belle-Anse, and the Bainet district,” the former deputy said. Due to the poor sanitation conditions, Gregory Boursiquot, owner of L’Auberge du Port hotel, admitted that he struggles to see how tourists could be convinced to visit Jacmel. “How can we invite tourists to visit Jacmel, a city without electricity, full of trash, and with a closed airport?” Boursiquot asked.
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252680/jacmel-faces-over-5-years-of-downward-spiral
The Haitian government invested more than $3.8 million to more than double the runway at the airport in the coastal city of Jacmel, repair its streets, renovate its town hall and restore electricity to a population living in the dark for at least three years. The speed at which the money materialized and crews overhauled the city left many Haitians stunned in a country whose infrastructure is crumbling and where gang violence has displaced more than one million people.
“The government doesn’t have money to remove us from the camp or provide security in the country, but it does have 500 million gourdes to spend on itself for a couple of days?” wondered Antoine Jean-Baptiste. The 44-year-old unemployed electrician lives in a makeshift shelter like thousands of other Haitians in the capital of Port-au-Prince after gangs razed their neighborhoods. He questioned how much the government spent to fly to Jacmel since driving there is too dangerous because gangs control the main roads leading in and out of Port-au-Prince.
The visit lasted about four hours. Alfred Métellus, Haiti’s new minister of economy and finance, said the extended runway would help boost Jacmel’s economy as he announced the investment during a press conference on Tuesday. He said Jacmel’s prison also is being renovated, and that customers are returning to hotels in an area that once thrived with tourists. https://apnews.com/article/haiti-colombia-money-spent-violence-jacmel-b4bceb48837e8d70bcc7f29017121a10?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share#
Colombian President Gustavo Petro is asking Haitians to forgive a group of Colombian mercenaries accused of being guns-for-hire in the still unsolved 2021 assassination of their president, Jovenel Moïse. The men, 17 of whom are currently jailed in Haiti and another one who is serving a life sentence in the United States after pleading guilty to the killing, do not represent the Colombian people, Petro said. “I ask for your forgiveness because some white Colombians came here to kill the president of Haiti,” said Petro. “In the name of all the Colombian people I tell you that we do not believe in that death that those Colombians spread, we believe in life.”
Petro’s apology came at the end of his historic visit to Haiti on Wednesday while surrounded by members of his government. Instead of visiting Port-au-Prince, the country’s gang-ridden capital as he had originally requested in August, Petro traveled to the coastal city of Jacmel in southeastern Haiti. “I want to thank you for helping my America, my Colombia, achieve freedom,” he said. “You even gave us our flag.” Arriving six hours behind schedule after a brief visit to the neighboring Dominican Republic, the ex-guerrilla fighter and first left-wing president of Colombia went to a meeting with Haitian officials and then later retraced the steps of South America’s liberators, Francisco de Miranda and Simón Bolívar.
Eel trafficking and money laundering
In Japan, a prepared dish costs up to $90 a plate, while in the northeastern United States they are worth thousands of dollars a pound, fresh out of the water. But the gross-looking, wriggly fish that has become both a delicacy — and a currency — known as zangi in Haitian-Creole, is also fueling a new kind of illicit trafficking in the volatile Caribbean nation, the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. Zangi, or eel, is fueling a booming wildlife crime business in Haiti, where illegal high-powered weapons from the United States and U.S.-bound Colombian-cocaine were already compounding an unprecedented security crisis.
“There is growing evidence that several Haitian nationals are part of a wider criminal network connected to lucrative eel trafficking, operating in Haiti and beyond,” Ghada Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, said. “Some reports indicate that powerful political and economic figures in Haiti use the eel industry to launder drug profits.” Waly didn’t go into details. But U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Haiti have long flagged concerns to their bosses in the Caribbean and Washington about suspected drug traffickers in Haiti branching out into eel trafficking both to hide drug proceeds and to move cocaine out of the country by stashing loads among the elongated fish. Now after not getting much attention, the accelerating trade, which is legal, is getting a deeper look. In October, when the U.N. voted unanimously to expand an arms embargo on Haiti to include all types of weapons and ammunition, they also mentioned sanctioning those “engaging in activities that destabilize Haiti through the illicit exploitation or trade of natural resources.” Those familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussions leading up to the expansion and renewal of sanctions say the language refers to the rising concerns about the role of eel trafficking in Haiti’s ongoing destabilization.
Medecins Sans Frontières resumes activities and launches new campaign on GBV
After two months of closure, Médecins Sans Frontières announced that activities resumed on Monday, January 20, 2025, at the Emergency and Referral Center in Turgeau, which specializes in handling medical and trauma emergencies. “Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is committed to resuming medical activities at the Emergency and Referral Center in Turgeau amidst a fragile context for hospitals and ambulances in downtown Port-au-Prince,” stated the international medical humanitarian organization in its release. This reopening follows negotiations initiated in 2024 between MSF officials and Haitian authorities, who provided certain assurances to the organization’s leadership. “MSF undertook efforts with the authorities, who assured us they would work to raise awareness and ensure respect for ambulances,” said Jean-Marc Biquet, MSF’s mission chief in Haiti. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252663/medecins-sans-frontieres-resumes-operations-in-turgeau
Gang sexual violence in Haiti has reached horrifying levels — and the organization that had been doing perhaps the most to treat the victims is operating there again, this time with a new effort to raise global awareness. Doctors Without Borders (aka Médecins Sans Frontières) has produced a new animated video, created by Haitian-American artist Lyne Lucien, which recounts the case of a young woman raped by the armed gangs that control much of Haiti today. She was one of more than 4,000 Haitian women and girls who were victims of gang sexual violence last year — an almost 140% increase since 2022. The Doctors Without Borders video emphasizes increased psychological care as part of that sheltering. Manilla added that the other priority, of course, has to be protecting Haitian women and girls from gang sexual violence in the first place. https://www.wlrn.org/americas/2025-01-22/haiti-gang-sexual-violence-doctors-without-borders
MSF also released a briefing paper, “Crisis in Haiti: What to Know” on January 23. Violence and political instability have uprooted hundreds of thousands of Haitians, disrupted health care, and put civilians in the crossfire. Here’s what to know about this neglected crisis. Read more: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/crisis-haiti-what-know
Armed groups in Carrefour organized pre-Carnival activities
This is an unprecedented event that took place in Carrefour on Sunday, January 19, 2025. As part of the first pre-carnival Sunday, a musical float parade was organized in the heart of the city. If at first glance the activity seems completely normal, the problem is that it was organized at the initiative of the armed men who have controlled the town for several months. Also, animators and DJs were armed on the small musical float that provided the musical part. Around the float circulated at the same speed as it about thirty men armed with automatic rifles, all dressed in black clothes flocked with the initials of a gang of the place. Between two carnival meringues, songs glorifying the Viv Ansanm coalition are broadcast. An atmosphere with the appearance of propaganda for this criminal group that controls a good part of the capital and its neighboring areas. Which did not however prevent some people, especially young people, from taking part in the activity.
In front of the Carrefour Sports Center where the route began, a small crowd accompanied the float, while others were content to observe. However, the small crowd grew as the route progressed. At various intersections on this axis of national road #2, visible armed men were stationed to monitor the progress of the "festivities", while others ensured the circulation of cars and pedestrians throughout the duration of the activity. Several residents said they were shocked by this activity. Despite the omnipresence of armed men in the town, more than one did not expect such an initiative. "I was in the street when I came across the tank. I did not expect it at all," said a young Carrefourois. "I was totally shocked, not only because of the activity, but especially to see these young people taking part in it," he added. A shock that was also palpable on the faces of several residents, who watched with a stunned eye as the tank and the small crowd that accompanied it passed by.
According to several local residents, the realization of this pre-carnival activity is neither more nor less than a new attempt by the gangs to appease the Carrefour population. Since the abandonment of the town by the authorities, according to several concordant testimonies, the gangs have multiplied the initiatives aimed at bringing them closer to the civilian population, which still seems to have difficulty in adapting to the presence of these armed men. https://lenouvelliste.com/article/252632/carrefour-un-defile-pre-carnavalesque-a-linitiative-des-gangs
Government and teachers’ unions sign agreement to end general strike after one week
An engagement agreement was signed on Monday, January 20, 2025, between the government and teachers' unions, marking the end of the indefinite general strike that began on January 13. The government announced this in a press release published in the early evening and committed to continuing dialogue toward a lasting agreement. "The government officially announces the end of the teachers' strike following the signing of an engagement agreement with teachers' unions on Monday, January 20, 2025. This agreement is a major step toward enabling students across the national territory to return to school in the coming days," the statement read.
As part of this agreement, the government has made commitments to improve the living and working conditions of teachers. "The government commits to continuing and strengthening ongoing efforts to regularize, as quickly as possible, the situation of teachers working without pay or appointment letters; to address salary arrears owed to teachers by the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP); and to provide teachers and MENFP staff with a debit card of 15,000 gourdes, available starting February 2025," the government revealed in the communiqué. "The government also pledges to work closely with state entities to restore public insurance coverage for the benefit of teachers and other Ministry agents, to collaborate with the National School Feeding Program (PNCS) to ensure a hot meal for students and educational staff, and to establish a joint commission to address the situation of first and second cycle fundamental school teachers," the statement continued.
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252644/teachers-strike-ends-after-agreement-with-government