Haiti Report, January 3, 2025
A compilation of news about Haiti from the past couple weeks.
At Least 13 Dead in Floods, with 7 Fatalities in Port-de-Paix
According to a provisional report from the Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC), as of December 20, 2024, floods have resulted in 13 deaths, 15 injuries, and one missing person in the departments of Nord-Ouest, Grand-Anse, Nippes, and Nord. In Port-de-Paix alone, the floods caused seven fatalities, according to another partial report dated Monday, December 23, provided by the DPC in the Nord-Ouest metropolis. "Seven deaths and 10 serious injuries were recorded following the floods in Port-de-Paix," a local source told the daily newspaper Le Nouvelliste. "No fewer than 100 houses were destroyed, 500 others were severely damaged, 11,000 establishments (homes, businesses, etc.) were flooded, and 20 vehicles were swept away," detailed the source. For several days, heavy rains in Port-de-Paix have caused the main rivers crossing the city to overflow. The communal sections of Baudin, Aubert, and Paulin are the most affected by the flooding.
When asked about the treatment of the injured, the source indicated that they were treated at the Immaculée Conception Hospital in Port-de-Paix, which is still operational. For now, efforts are being organized at the communal level to assist those affected by this situation. In a communiqué dated Monday, December 23, 2024, the municipal administration announced the "activation of the Communal Emergency Operations Center (COUC) to provide a better response and management of the emergency." Furthermore, in a municipal decree issued later the same day, the administration declared a state of emergency "in the commune of Port-de-Paix for a period of three months, renewable if necessary." This measure aims to mobilize resources as quickly as possible to assist the victims. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252185/at-least-13-dead-in-floods-with-7-fatalities-in-port-de-paix
Dominican Republic deported over 276k Haitians in 2024
The Dominican Republic deported more than 276,000 Haitians in 2024, the country’s Immigration Directorate said Wednesday. In the last three months of the year alone, over 94,000 people were deported under a new operation aiming to remove up to 10,000 undocumented Haitians per week, ordered by the Dominican Republic’s National Security and Defense Council headed by President Luis Abinader. Dominican authorities also deported 48,344 Haitians during the January-March quarter, 62,446 between April-June, and 71,414 from July to September, according to the statement. https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/02/americas/dominican-republic-deport-haitians-intl-latam/index.html
Armed Groups Continue attacks over holidays
Attacks by criminal groups continued this New Year. Early on Wednesday, January 1, armed bandits attacked the town of Makako, not far from Laboule. Their goal was to reach Pétion-Ville via Laboule. Reached by telephone by Le Nouvelliste this Thursday, January 2, the deputy spokesperson for the national police Lionel Lazarre confirmed the attack. "Bandits did indeed attack this locality. But they were pushed back by the police officers deployed on the spot. They were chased out of a house that they had taken control of," Mr. Lazarre reported to the newspaper. "The police officers remain on the spot. On January 2, the operations continued. The police are trying to push them back to Diquini (Carrefour)," added the deputy spokesperson. In addition to New Year's Eve, the newspaper learned that gangs have stepped up attacks during the end-of-year holidays. According to a source contacted by the editorial staff, between December 29 and 30, armed men looted a warehouse at Bernard Mevs Hospital, which was set on fire with Molotov cocktails on the night of December 16. Solar panels and light equipment were taken by the criminals, this source told Le Nouvelliste. The newspaper also learned that other businesses located on the airport road and in Nazon have also been targeted by criminal groups. This is the case of the Safari Motors dealership and the heavy machinery supplier Haytrac. For the latter, videos showing bandits taking away equipment have been widely shared on social networks. In other videos we can see the fire on part of the premises of the car dealership Safari Motors located in Nazon, not far from Solino.
President declares war on insecurity at Independence Ceremony
Leslie Voltaire, President of the Presidential Transitional Council at the ceremony celebrating the 221st anniversary of Haiti's independence, Wednesday, January 1, 2025, called for the mobilization of all layers of society to combat insecurity in the context where more than 7,500 people have been injured or killed in Haiti since January 2024, according to UN sources. "In this war against criminal gangs, all the vital forces of society are concerned. Everyone must give ideas. Everyone must collaborate with the community police," demanded Leslie Voltaire.
"In this war, we ask our friendly countries to help us fight to restore our rights as humans. Our friends must also invest in preventing the intrusion of weapons and ammunition into the national territory," the president stressed, specifying that the objective of the war is to restore security. A plan for strict control of firearms and ammunition is in the preparation phase. We have requested and continue to request the assistance of all countries in the region that have had, or are still having, experience in methods of combating transnational criminal organizations," he revealed.
"We want to pacify the country to facilitate the organization of elections. Inevitably there will be elections in the country at the end of the year," guaranteed the president of the CPT, assuring that 2025 will be the year of the final struggle to create a climate conducive to the recovery of territories under the control or threat of armed gangs. "In this year 2025, we will free all the roads controlled by gangs. We will secure the ports, the airports to facilitate the free movement of people and goods. This implies, I tell you, the collaboration of all. We, the leaders of the State, will put the necessary means at the disposal of the police to dismantle all the gangs. Life must resume throughout the territory," promises President Voltaire. https://lenouvelliste.com/article/252274/a-la-guerre-comme-a-la-guerre-declare-le-president-du-cpt
Attack on journalists preparing for press conference at State University Hospital
At least two journalists and a police officer were killed Tuesday after armed gangs opened fire on them inside an old military hospital in Haiti’s capital. The attack also left at least seven journalists and two police officers injured with gunshot wounds. The injured were being treated at La Paix Hospital after a specialized unit of the Haiti National Police went inside the facility that is part of the Hospital of the State University of Haiti, better known as the General Hospital, to rescue the wounded.
Police officers told a Miami Herald freelancer and other waiting journalists that they had left four bodies on the ground. After three ambulances arrived at the hospital, journalists identified two of the bodies inside one of the ambulances as online journalists Mackendy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. A Haitian police spokesman could not be reached for comment. The tragedy unfolded while the press was awaiting the arrival of Health Minister Duckenson Lorthe Blema to cover the reopening of the General Hospital, which had been closed for months because of gang attacks. As reporters waited inside for the arrival of Blema, they could hear gunfire out in the streets, where two armored police vehicles were patrolling. “The whole area is under siege,” Guyler Delva, head of the press freedom group SOS journalists, said before police moved in to rescue the trapped reporters. “Bandits are shooting all around. If the journalists go out into the street, they will be killed and no one is helping them. The situation is very worrisome. They are stranded.”
Delva blamed the Haitian government for the incident, saying the attack is part of a larger problem in which journalists are being targeted by the police as well as gangs. Reporters have reported being harassed by police while on assignment. Earlier this year Haitian authorities issued a list of journalists they were seeking to arrest, claiming they were working with gangs. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article297549658.html#storylink=cpy
The United States is shocked and saddened by the heinous attack on civilians during the re-opening of the State University Hospital. This large, public institution served Haitians from all walks of life, and now the gangs have deprived them of this essential service. We condemn this senseless act of violence and the criminals who ordered it. We mourn its many victims: journalists, police officers, healthcare workers, and patients. The victims were at the hospital on Tuesday because they wanted to build a stronger, safer Haiti; instead their lives were taken by those who want to weaken it. This barbaric attack is an assault not just on them, but also on the very principle of respect for human life. We condemn attacks against members of the press who play a big role in maintaining democracy. We also urge the international community to support Haiti through humanitarian and security assistance. It is only with the concerted support of all nations that the Haitian people will prevail in fending off the gangs and achieving long-term security.
Following the armed attack on the General Hospital on Tuesday, December 24, which resulted in the deaths of at least two journalists and a police officer, the Minister of Public Health and Population, Dr. Duckenson Lorthe Blema, was dismissed. He was replaced by Patrick Pélissier, Minister of Justice and Public Security, who is now serving as interim head. The decree appointing Pélissier to lead the MSPP was published on Thursday, December 26, 2024. Upon assuming office, Dr. Duckenson Lorthe Blema had promised to reopen the General Hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince as a Christmas gift. However, the downtown area has been controlled by gangs for several months. The attempt to reopen the hospital ended in tragedy.
Major Losses in Transportation Sector
The transportation sector in Haiti is experiencing an unprecedented crisis, exacerbated by the insecurity plaguing national roads. According to Changeux Méhu, president of the Association of Owners and Drivers of Haiti (APCH), the 2024 toll is alarming. Between January 1 and December 20, 30 drivers were killed, including three burned alive, while 9 others were kidnapped, and 4 were injured by gunfire.
The violence also extends to vehicles and infrastructure. Nine cargo trucks were hijacked, 12 vehicles were shot at, 576 were set on fire, 246 were completely destroyed, and 167 were stolen. Additionally, 37 buildings housing transport company offices or unions were vandalized. This is the grim report for the transportation sector, as outlined by Changeux Méhu of the APCH during an appearance on Magik 9 on Tuesday, December 24, 2024. Méhu clarified that the report covers cases reported from January 1 to December 20, 2024.
Passengers have not been spared either. Méhu revealed that 198 passengers were kidnapped, 22 killed, and 46 injured by gunfire during the same period. “These figures illustrate the magnitude of the danger faced by transport workers and users in Haiti,” he stated. Cargo transport, essential to the economy, was also paralyzed throughout 2024. “Transporting goods from Les Cayes to Port-au-Prince costs 500,000 gourdes. Between paying passage fees to gang members on public roads and covering the cost of boarding at the wharf, more than half of the amount (290,000 gourdes) is spent,” Méhu explained during the Panel Magik show, describing the ordeal of transport workers.
More than a dozen ransom checkpoints have been set up by gangs along national roads, Méhu revealed. “On National Road #2 alone, there are no fewer than eight ransom checkpoints. On National Road #1, there are five, and three are noted on National Road #3,” detailed Changeux Méhu of the APCH on Panel Magik, describing the dire state of the transportation sector just days before the start of a new year.
In the face of this ordeal, the APCH is calling for urgent measures to secure the roads and protect workers. “We are witnessing the progressive destruction of the transportation sector,” lamented the union leader Changeux Méhu. “This tragic report underscores the urgent need for Haitian authorities to restore security and implement solutions to support a sector vital to the economy and the population,” the union leader urged.
7 Dead and 17 Injured in Boat incident at Varreux dock
The partial toll of the accident, a "list to port," at the Varreux dock involving the vessel Le Maelys II on December 23, stands at 7 dead and 17 injured, Le Nouvelliste has learned. "Semanah and the Coast Guard are completing their investigation. We do not yet have the final death count as there are still bodies inside the ship’s hold. At the time of the accident, there were 34 trucks distributed across two decks on the ship," our source revealed on Thursday, December 26, 2024. The Varreux terminal, which expressed its "deep regret," stated, without providing details, that the accident "unfortunately resulted in the loss of human lives." "This regrettable incident does not affect the docking of foreign-flagged ships or the port’s international operations. However, due to this event, cabotage operations are temporarily suspended, although the supply to the southern peninsula remains a priority," the terminal announced in its statement.
“Activities at the oil terminal are continuing as usual. International port operations, including the arrival of fuel ships, propane ships, and bulk cargo vessels, are proceeding normally. Cabotage operations are currently halted following the accident of a cabotage vessel,” our source also confirmed early Thursday evening. The terminal's statement explained that "the small cabotage vessel Le Maelys II (Year: 1970, Tonnage: 2,401 tons, Length: 75 meters) of the company JP Haiti Trans," was conducting cabotage operations between the Grand South and Port-au-Prince. The accident occurred during the loading of trucks, carried out by the crew. While the vessel was at the ramp designated for cabotage operations, a mishandling of a truck inside the hold caused a severe imbalance, resulting in a list to port. The vessel will be righted and repaired without delay by its owner. For now, it remains partially submerged, outside the area of the international docks, according to the statement. “We express our deepest gratitude to the courageous teams of the Haitian Coast Guard, the APN, and the Varreux Terminal employees for their swift and effective assistance. The Varreux Terminal, its staff, and collaborators extend their sincere condolences to the families of the victims,” the statement reads.
Internally DIsplaced People express anger in response to government food distribution
Disappointed, frustrated, angry, internally displaced persons living in makeshift camps in Port-au-Prince were very angry with the government, which announced with great fanfare the distribution of food and hygiene kits to 1,200 heads of families as part of the solidarity day at Sainte Thérèse Park on Tuesday, December 31, 2024. Beneficiaries interviewed on site by the newspaper were astonished to have made the trip for a few portions of white rice, two bags of pasta, a small can of evaporated milk, a little sugar, a few portions of dried peas and a small can of canned salmon. Some displaced people threw the kits on the park's lawn while others tore them up and scattered their contents in the stadium stands.
"Since we're on the street, this is what they give us? It's just humiliating. It's a lack of respect for our human dignity," spat a woman in her forties who introduces herself as a former shopkeeper but who has been living at the Anténor Firmin high school for several months. "It's demeaning. We have family. Is this the kit the government is going to use to help displaced people who have lost everything? We were made to leave the Anténor Firmin high school at 7 a.m. for this farce at 1 p.m. If I had known, I wouldn't have come," admitted another woman from the same camp.
Before the distribution, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Georges Wilbert Franck, had indicated that this distribution of food kits is a way for the government to renew its commitment to the most vulnerable groups. "This distribution is part of the government's efforts to directly reach Haitians living in displaced persons camps," said the minister, who announced that distributions will continue until the 30,000 kits available to support the most vulnerable groups are exhausted.
For Haiti’s kids, servitude in gangs, death on the streets leave little room for a future
The nine-year-old boys wearing matching knapsacks walk down the street in the morning light, but they are not going to school. In their hands are loaded guns, and the boys know how to use them. One aims his pistol at the Haitian police officers engaging them in a firefight a few hundred yards away. The children are members of one of the gangs that control at least 80% of Port-au-Prince, where they have effectively replaced the government. The knapsacks are for goods they find or loot.
In a country where the United Nations estimates 5,000 people have been killed by gangs this year alone, and more than 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, children have become a largely voiceless victim of the crisis. Orphaned, left homeless, or abandoned by families that cannot afford to care for them, many youth roam the streets of the capital before being recruited by gangs that are a rare source of ready cash. The boys might be used as lookouts or runners to buy cigarettes before being given weapons themselves, said Mary Durran, Haiti program director for Development and Peace— Caritas Canada, a Montreal-based Catholic charity. “The girls are used as sex slaves or as cooks and cleaners.”
The U.N. estimates that the number of children in the ranks of Haiti’s gangs has increased by 70% in the past year, and that children now make up roughly half of the gangs’ fighting force.
The use of child soldiers is considered a war crime by the International Criminal Court. “As the situation in Haiti unfolds, it appears that individuals under the age of 18 are becoming involved in irregular armed forces,” said Theresa S. Betancourt, Salem Professor in Global Practice at the Boston College School of Social Work and author of the forthcoming book Shadows into Light: A Generation of Former Child Soldiers Comes of Age. “So yes, I would say that the situation meets the definition.” https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article297502538.html#storylink=cpy
UN expert O’Neill deeply concerned by attacks on health care sector
The UN’s Designated Expert on Human Rights in Haiti, William O’Neill, said today he was deeply concerned that the outrageous attacks on hospitals, clinics, and heath care workers by gangs in Haiti in December have further weakened a health care system that was already near collapse. The attack on the Bernard Mevs Hospital in Port-au-Prince on 17 December and the killing of several journalists and a Haitian National Police officer, present at the premises of the General Hospital on 24 December for its official reopening, were the latest suffered by the country’s health care sector – a sector that has been increasingly targeted over the past two years.
“Access to health care and the lives of those who provide it are clearly at great risk in Haiti,” said O’Neill, who was designated by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in April 2023. “Criminal gangs have murdered and kidnapped physicians, nurses and health care workers, including humanitarian workers. The gangs have burned, ransacked, and destroyed many hospitals and clinics, forcing many to close or suspend their operations. Only 37 per cent of health facilities in the capital, Port-au-Prince, are fully functional and are difficult for people to access due to security concerns. The situation is compounded by the high number of medical staff fleeing the country fearing for their lives.”
Gang members’ repeated threats to attack health premises indicate that these are intentional assaults on the health care system, and not random spasms of violence, he said. In some cases, police officers were also allegedly involved in attacks against patients and threats against health workers. “The Haitian people - including hundreds of thousands of children living in very precarious conditions - are once again paying the high price of this violence with their right to health severely hindered,” said O’Neill.
“The spread of diseases, such as cholera and tuberculosis, is an additional source of concern.”
The 24 December attacks also underline the fact that Haiti remains one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. Many have been killed while others have fled the country in the face of death threats. “I urge the international community to do everything it can to help Haitian authorities to combat rampant insecurity and ensure the realization of the right to health, including unhindered access to health facilities, goods and services,” the expert said. “The State must also investigate and arrest those responsible for the attacks and ensure that they are brought to justice.” (OHCHR press release, ohchr-media@un.org)
Interview with UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti
UN News: How would you describe the current situation in the country?
Ulrika Richardson: There has been a terrifying escalation of violence in certain parts of Haiti, which is tearing at the very fabric of society. There have been horrific massacres in the last three months of the year both in the capital Port-au-Prince, but also in near-by l’Artibonite. These brutal acts of dehumanization will only deepen the collective trauma of the Haitian people. We cannot ignore this reality. We must centre these horrific events in our response, urgently expanding mental health and psychosocial support programmes, and integrating them into our long-term plan for stability.
As the UN we are committed to staying in Haiti to help the most vulnerable people through the current crisis. We need to protect people currently in extremely vulnerable situations, particularly in Port-au-Prince, where security forces simply do not have the capacity to protect citizens.
This means supporting the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people. Families have fled their homes, often multiple times so we can start to imagine the magnitude of the wound they carry, and we must ensure they live in decent conditions. So, at the moment, security is a prerequisite before addressing humanitarian challenges and then looking at a durable recovery.
UN News: It seems that every step you've taken, there have been two steps back. The deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission appears to have stalled.
Ulrika Richardson: Of course, we are hoping that the situation improves. We will never give up hope and are working closely with the government, transitional authorities, civil society, and the private sector to make 2025 a better year than 2024.
Youth in Haiti is at the centre of discussions around development and security. What step do you see as critical in the next year to empowering them and preventing their recruitment into armed gangs?
Opportunities. They need to have alternatives. We have, and need to continue to work on what these alternatives are. We want young people and children to be able to transition into being members of the community. Some young people are coerced into joining gangs and there is an explanation for this. If you can't leave the capital because finding a job somewhere else means that you risk your life on gang-controlled roads and there is no job opportunity where you live, your parents may have been killed, and education is not an option, what do we expect them to do? Many children from the age of eight are currently recruited by gangs to run errands, to be their informer Unfortunately, arms trafficking continues to happen despite the sanctions regime. We need to have a process in place and a much better response rate from neighbouring actors.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1158481
Retiring US Envoy Brian Nichols on Haiti
Brian A. Nichols, who has spent nearly four years carrying out U.S. diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere, doesn’t believe all is lost in crisis-wracked Haiti — a county where the last presidential election took place back in 2016, deadly gangs running amok in its capital and the country is embroiled in a constitutional and humanitarian crisis. “I think the ability to forge a political consensus will improve if security improves. Right now, people don’t necessarily see the benefits of cooperation and are taking advantage of the gang-led violence and the influence of corrupt elites in Haiti to manipulate events to their advantage,” said Nichols, whose tenure as assistant U.S. secretary of state has also been marked by an unprecedented migrant crisis in the hemisphere and an ongoing electoral crisis in Venezuela, to name a few. “If security is improved, then all of those things around the electoral process improve as well.”
Admittedly, he says, he is leaving a region more complicated than how he found it when he started his career as a 23-year-old foreign service officer. And perpetually troubled Haiti is even more unstable after a catastrophic 2024. Instead of fighting against a repressive regime like they were doing in 1988 after emerging from a nearly 30-year Duvalier family dictatorship, Haitians today are fighting against repressive gangs armed with U.S.-made rifles after the 2021 assassination of their president, Jovenel Moïse, catapulted the country further into disarray. Four prime ministers later, the country remains in crisis mode with no date for elections. A Transitional Presidential Council, created after the ouster of prime minister Ariel Henry, is under fire for corruption and ineptness, and a new prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, is now in charge after the ousting last month of Henry’s replacement, Garry Conille. “Haiti,” Nichols said in an interview with the Miami Herald as gangs were setting fire to a car dealership in Port-au-Prince on Monday, “has been a key challenge during my time as assistant secretary.” “We’ve tried to support Haitian leadership throughout this process and solicit voices. But we’ve also had to address a society that remains very polarized and has had challenges agreeing on the political path forward, challenges agreeing on whether or not they want an international security mission in Haiti,” he said.
In his final interview before retirement, Nichols pushed back on critics’ assessment that the U.S. failed to deliver on Haiti. Rather than focus on the administration’s shortcomings, the Rhode Island native touted its policy of pursuing partnerships to help address what he views as the greatest crisis in the Western Hemisphere. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article297782748.html#storylink=cpy
CPT Publishes Legal Framework for the National Security Council
In a decree published on Friday, December 20, in the official journal Le Moniteur, the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) established the National Security Council (CNS). This new structure, provided for under the April 3 Agreement, is a “consultative body under the authority of the CPT” tasked with assisting the country's authorities in efforts to address Haiti's security crisis. This decree marks the first step toward the establishment of the National Security Council. It provides a legal framework for the CNS while awaiting the appointment of its members. Article 2 of the document, obtained by Le Nouvelliste, states that the CNS is an “ad hoc consultative body to assist the highest authorities of the Republic in addressing the various aspects of the country’s security crisis. It operates under the authority of the Transitional Presidential Council.”
As part of its mission outlined in the decree, the CNS is tasked with:
Defining the terms of cooperation with national and international partners to improve security, particularly through technical assistance to national security forces and the judicial system to sustainably address societal issues such as insecurity, armed violence, human trafficking, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and smuggling.
Defining and overseeing, after adoption, arrangements related to international security assistance in consultation with local authorities, security actors, governance and civil society stakeholders, as well as national and international experts.
Regarding its composition, the National Security Council will consist of national experts, diaspora professionals, and other qualified individuals in the field of security, chosen by the executive branch, according to Article 4 of the decree. Article 5 specifies that the Prime Minister, following recommendations from CNS members, may propose to the Transitional Presidential Council the inclusion of additional experts in the CNS, if deemed necessary. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252220/cpt-publishes-legal-framework-for-the-national-security-council
Security Forces Launch Operations in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite
The Haitian National Police (PNH) conducted multiple operations in various areas of the metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince on December 26 and 27, 2024. According to information provided by the institution, several gang members were killed, firearms were seized, and material damage was inflicted on gang infrastructure. “During a special operation carried out by PNH agents in Sarthe (Cité-Soleil municipality) on the morning of Thursday, December 26, 2024, several gang members were fatally wounded following exchanges of gunfire between these criminals and law enforcement,” reads a post from the police on their social media accounts. A photo of two assault rifles was also shared. In downtown Port-au-Prince, Le Nouvelliste learned that clashes occurred between gang members and law enforcement on Thursday, December 26. The PNH was accompanied by members of the MSS. According to a police report, security forces destroyed hideouts used by gang members near the Port-au-Prince cemetery. Part of the cemetery wall was destroyed by heavy equipment used by the security forces.
The newspaper also learned of confrontations between law enforcement and gang members in Delmas 19 and the Carrefour de l’Aéroport. This area, it should be noted, has been a scene of armed clashes for several weeks. Additionally, police operations, supported by the MSS, to dislodge the Savien gang are ongoing. Agents deployed in this area received additional equipment this week. According to Government Commissioner Venson François of the Saint-Marc First Instance Court, who spoke on Magik 9 on Friday, December 27, the objective is to eradicate this criminal group. “We have been committed to dismantling this gang for several weeks. We have driven the gang members out of downtown Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite, Pont Sondé, and Carrefour Pèy. Traffic has resumed at several points along the national highway,” explained Commissioner François. “Yesterday, Thursday, we conducted an operation in the stronghold of the gang leader known as Dinosaure. The operations will continue,” he added, though he did not provide a detailed report on the outcomes.
Haitians Flee Gangs on a Mountain Trail ‘Where Even the Dogs Don’t Go’
The mountain trail south of Haiti’s capital was long used only by farmers hauling strawberries to market and the rare adventurous hiker. It passes bucolic highland pine forests and follows rugged cliff-side paths in a place so remote it is known to locals as “where even the dogs don’t go.” Now, it is one of the last ways to escape Port-au-Prince, the capital city where violent gangs have cut off other road and sea routes for fleeing Haitians. Each day, scores of Haitians carrying suitcases and mattresses take the daylong, sometimes dangerous journey along the rocky route to get to the country’s southern coast, a haven from the urban warfare.
The rush to flee highlights the worsening security conditions in Haiti. Gang leaders have seized control over some 90% of the capital since toppling an interim government in March. A U.S.-funded, Kenya-led international police force that was deployed in June is struggling to fight back, leaving average citizens to fend for themselves. “To live in Port-au-Prince right now is to live in hell, like an open-air prison,” said Marie Yolene Gilles, a human-rights advocate in the city who described how friends and colleagues have had to take the remote route south. “We’re closer to death than to life. People are willing to risk it all to get to the countryside.”
The precarious situation underscores challenges that await the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, which has promised to strip Haitian migrants in the U.S. of protected status and carry out mass deportations. For Haitians, deportation would mean returning to a country where gunmen fight in the streets over lucrative trades in smuggling, extortion and kidnapping-for-ransom, security analysts said.
More than 200 people were killed in a Port-au-Prince slum in early December when a gang boss sent followers with machetes to hunt people he believed were practicing witchcraft, rights groups that documented the massacre said. In recent days, two journalists and a police officer were fatally shot in Port-au-Prince by gangsters at a ceremony marking the reopening of the capital’s general hospital. That attack took place days after a gang set fire to an important local trauma center. The gang violence has displaced 700,000 people, about a quarter of the capital’s population, according to the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency. Almost 75% of them have fled to provinces in Haiti’s south, many taking the perilous route south by foot.
Gangs have largely sealed off exits from Port-au-Prince. Armed children recruited from slums have choked off major roads, halting the distribution of food, fuel and potable water. Haitians trying to leave the city on boats through the Bay of Port-au-Prince have been pushed back by gunfire from gang members who dominate the waterfront, aid workers said. Even for those who can afford to fly, there are few exit options. The Federal Aviation Administration has banned U.S. airlines from flying to the capital’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport until March, after three commercial aircraft were recently hit with bullets. The U.S. regulatory agency is still allowing flights to Haiti’s second city, Cap-Haïtien, on the northern coast. Foreign embassies and aid organizations have been evacuating nonessential personnel on small jets and helicopters to cities outside the capital.
For average Haitians, the footpath to the south is among the only ways to escape. “You used to see just five or six people on this path, but it’s become like a constant stream,” said Bill O’Neill, the U.N.’s top human-rights expert on Haiti. “Now they’re not doing it for business or pleasure. Now it’s about getting out and saving their lives.” The starting point for many Haitians fleeing along the route is in Pétion-Ville, a sprawling neighborhood in the hills of Port-au-Prince where high-end mansions are next to hillside shanties. It is one of the few areas in the capital where police, alongside civilian vigilante groups, have been able to thwart gang control.
O’Neill, the U.N. expert, said he was concerned about gangs that have been trying to set up base near the mouth of the trail. In recent months, gangsters have also carried out raids in Pétion-Ville. Without more international aid for Haiti’s beleaguered security forces, security analysts say they fear the dirt trail could also fall. “The gangs are working their way up the hill,” said O’Neill. “If they do, they will have the city totally encircled.”
https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/haiti-port-au-prince-migrants-hiking-trail-1d189e7c
EDH Faces a Fuel Supply Crisis in Provincial Cities
Electricity of Haiti (EDH) informs its customers that the electricity supply in several provincial cities has been disrupted due to an accident that occurred on the night of December 22, 2024, at the Varreux Terminal. This incident has led to the suspension of cabotage operations, a crucial method for transporting fuel to the northern and southern regions of the country. The government had allocated 200 million gourdes to enable EDH to strengthen electricity supply during the holiday season. However, this initiative is now facing unforeseen logistical challenges. EDH explains that its suppliers, reliant on cabotage for the transportation of petroleum products, are actively exploring alternative solutions to resolve the situation.
“We are aware of the impact of this situation on our customers, particularly during this festive period. We are working closely with our suppliers to restore service as quickly as possible,” EDH stated in a press release issued on Thursday, December 26, 2024. In the meantime, several provincial cities continue to experience prolonged power outages, affecting daily and economic activities. EDH reaffirms its commitment to its customers and assures that every effort will be made to resolve this crisis promptly.
“EDH customers are encouraged to exercise patience and understanding while sustained efforts are being made to return to normal operations,” the institution’s officials stated.
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252203/edh-faces-a-fuel-supply-crisis-in-provincial-cities
CPT: Sectors Unable to Agree on Proposals to Send to CARICOM
Following the December 16 meeting with the Eminent Persons of CARICOM, the representatives of sectors that appointed members to the Presidential Council (CPT) were expected to present the Caribbean organization with proposals for resolving the crisis currently affecting the CPT. As of this week, political actors still had not reached an agreement on the future of the CPT. Nearly two weeks after the virtual meeting with CARICOM, Haitian stakeholders have yet to hold a meeting involving all parties, a leader of an organization that appointed a representative to the CPT told Le Nouvelliste. “There have been discussions between certain sectors, three or four, but we have not yet had meetings with all the sectors involved in the process,” he said.
The sectors that have been meeting are considering creating a commission to work on the proposals requested by CARICOM, Le Nouvelliste has learned. Although the sectors were expected to agree on a proposal to submit to CARICOM before Christmas, nothing has been decided yet. “Discussions are ongoing. The stakeholders are aiming for a date before December 30,” Liné Balthazar, president of the PHTK and member of the Collective of January 30 Parties, a signatory of the April 3 agreement, told the newspaper. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252202/cpt-sectors-unable-to-agree-on-proposals-to-send-to-caricom
Ministry of National Education Unveils Updated Curriculum for Secondary Education
At a press conference on Monday, December 23, 2024, officials from the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) provided updates on modifications made to the curriculum currently in effect for the new secondary education program. Implemented since September 2007, the MENFP deemed it necessary to revise the general education curriculum at the secondary level, which had been in place for several years. This program, organized into four streams—Life and Earth Sciences (SVT), Economics and Social Sciences (SES), Mathematics and Physical Sciences (SMP), and Languages, Literature, and Arts (LLA)—was analyzed and revised by a group of experts.
According to the Director General of MENFP, this revision was conducted with the aim of “diversifying the secondary education streams” and is based on “disciplinary fields and strengthening the competency-based approach.” Mr. Yves Roblin indicated that the MENFP is working to integrate a technological education stream into the secondary curriculum, enabling students to complete their classical studies while acquiring vocational training. This stream, he stated, will be piloted in certain public high schools during the current academic year.
The revised secondary education program is the result of work by a team of 40 Haitian designers, supported by foreign experts, tasked with revisiting the curriculum for the third cycle of fundamental education and the existing secondary education program, according to Joseph Job Maurice, General Coordinator of the Education Division at MENFP. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252176/ministry-of-national-education-unveils-updated-curriculum-for-secondary-education
Improvements to Cap-Haitien airport
Cap-Haïtien International Airport is preparing to begin work to repair and reinforce its runway, a project that will improve airport infrastructure in Haiti. This work will be carried out by the company COAMCO HAÏTI SA for an amount of 4,725,442.46 USD. The service order will take effect this Monday, December 30, 2024, thus ensuring the continuity of air operations, particularly in times of crisis. The repair of the runway is of paramount importance as it ensures the smooth operation of commercial flights serving Haiti. With increasing traffic, the condition of the runway has raised concerns about the safety of air operations. This work aims to strengthen the infrastructure to efficiently accommodate the various flights, thus contributing to the country's connectivity. The Central Execution Unit (UCE) of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (MTPTC) has granted a period of seven months to COAMCO HAÏTI SA for the completion of this project, including the structural adjustments required by the National Airport Authority (AAN). This period will allow the company to carry out the work while respecting quality and safety standards. These economic and financial efforts aim to make the runway of the Cap-Haïtien International Airport more efficient and operational. The mobilization of resources for this project reflects the commitment of the Haitian authorities to improve the country's essential infrastructure and support the development of the aviation sector. https://rezonodwes.com/?p=349173