Haiti Report, September 17, 2024
A compilation of news about Haiti from the past week.
Deadly tanker truck explosion in southern Haiti
The number of people killed after a tanker truck carrying gasoline exploded in southern Haiti over the weekend has risen to 26, officials said. At least 40 others were injured, and six of them have been transferred to the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to a report published Sunday in Le Nouvelliste newspaper, which quoted civil protection officials. Authorities planned to transfer another 12 victims with severe burns, the report said. The explosion occurred Saturday in the southern coastal city of Miragoane after the truck flipped over. In 2021, 75 people were killed in the northern city of Cap-Haitien, when another fuel truck overturned and unleashed a fireball that swept through several homes and businesses. Some of those killed were onlookers who had rushed to the truck to try and scoop up fuel. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/number-people-killed-haiti-after-tanker-truck-exploded-113723527
The death toll from the tanker truck explosion in Miragoâne, which occurred on Saturday, September 14, continues to rise. According to Emmanuel Pierre, Director General of Civil Protection, two more deaths have been reported at Sainte-Thérèse Hospital, along with one more at Saint-Boniface Hospital. "This brings the partial death toll to 27, with 42 severely burned individuals," Pierre stated during an interview on Magik 9, Monday, September 16, 2024. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/250286/symbolic-funerals-to-pay-homage-to-miragoane-explosion-victims
Secretary General of the Fort-Liberté bar shot and killed
Me Artiste Rémy, secretary general of the Fort-Liberté bar, was shot dead on the evening of September 16 in Manquette, a working-class neighborhood in the city of Ouanaminthe. The perpetrators of the crime had time to flee and have not been identified. The victim, who was very close to his house, was hit by several projectiles. He was rushed to hospital, but his life was not saved. https://x.com/nouvelliste/status/1836098735514026215
Days of gun battles in Cite Soleil after shooting at soccer match
A fresh wave of violence between rival gangs in one of the Haitian capital’s poorest neighborhoods was sparked by gunfire that broke out over a referee’s call during a soccer match, a pastor and newspaper said on September 13. The awarding of a penalty kick in Wednesday’s championship match in the Cité Soleil community of Port-au-Prince touched off a shootout at the venue that killed the second-in-command of one gang and injured another gang leader, the pastor said. “A lot of people were killed,” Pastor Enock Joseph told Magik 9 radio station on Friday. Joseph, whose church is located inside Cité Soleil, said he did not know exactly how many people have died so far. Gunfire continued in the neighborhood on Friday, two days after the match, and Joseph said people were trapped in their homes by the violence. https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gang-violence-soccer-match-penalty-5c2889bf4586524c5bcfd41aafedf195
Tabarre in lockdown after commissioner detained over summary execution
Tabarre, located about 8 km from Port-au-Prince, was effectively on lockdown over the weekend. Several roads in the municipality were blocked by vehicles and barricades made of burning tires. These actions were reportedly carried out by individuals identified as police officers and members of the local civilian population. This tense atmosphere in Tabarre came after the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCJP) detained Commissioner Lyvenson Gauthier and three others. The group included a police officer and two civilians, according to Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesperson for the Haitian National Police (PNH), who spoke to the newspaper on Friday evening. According to Lazarre, the decision to detain Gauthier was based on a complaint accusing him of carrying out a summary execution. The incident allegedly took place in early September near the Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs Hospital.
US seeks to extend Multinational Security Support Mission for one year while transition to UN Peacekeeping force
The Biden administration is seeking a year’s extension of the current Kenya-led security mission in Haiti, while also asking the United Nations Security Council to begin planning to transition the underfunded and ill-equipped operation into an official U.N. peacekeeping force. The request is outlined in a four-sentence draft resolution currently being kept under wraps among U.N. member states, according to two people familiar with the matter and language shared with the Miami Herald. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to debate the fate of the largely U.S.-funded, U.N.-backed security mission on Sept. 30 ahead of the expiration of its year-long mandate on Oct. 2. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article292208120.html#storylink=cpy
Additional personnel arrive for MSS from Jamaica and Belize
Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced Tuesday that his nation’s long-awaited participation in the largely U.S.-funded Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti is ready to begin. Holness said the English-speaking Caribbean nation will deploy 24 security personnel to Haiti “to provide command, planning and logistics support.” The group, made up of 20 members of the Jamaica Defense Force and four police officers, arrived in Port-au-Prince on September 12. They joined approximately 400 Kenyan police officers who began deploying to Haiti in late June and have struggled to make progress against the country’s armed gangs, now in control of more than 85% of Port-au-Prince. “The security forces continue in a state of readiness to support further deployment towards our overall commitment as the mission in Haiti is scaled up,” Holness, who also serves as his island-nation’s minister of defense, said after a cabinet meeting. “Jamaica has close fraternal ties to the people of Haiti and we stand in solidarity with them.”
The Belize Defence Force is deploying two senior officers to Jamaica ahead of an assignment to Haiti, it said on Sunday, as part of its commitment to support a long-delayed security mission to help Haitian police fight powerful gangs. The deployment could signal other countries will deploy to support Kenyan police already in the Caribbean nation as part of a "multinational support mission" requested by Haiti, with the U.N.'s initial 12-month mandate within weeks of expiring.
Belize itself pledged in May to provide the mission with 50 military personnel from the Belize Defence Force (BDF) and coast guard. Kenyan mission commander Godfrey Otunge predicted the Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize should deploy before the end of this month, Kenyan and Haitian media reported. Together, they have pledged 400 troops and Benin at least 1,500. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/belize-army-sends-officers-long-delayed-haiti-mission-jamaica-2024-09-09/
Kenya sends 600 more police to pre-deployment training
More than 600 personnel reported to police training camps for a short training ahead of deployment to Haiti. They will join more than 400 police officers are already engaged in combating gangs in the capital Port-au-Prince, officials aware of the developments said.Insiders said the plan is to send out the new team to Haiti by next month. The deployment will increase to more than 1,000 the number of personnel on the UN-supported security mission in the Caribbean. Another insider said Kenya will have to prepare for another reserve of 500 personnel, given plans to turn the Haiti operation into a full UN peacekeeping mission. The team is picked from the Rapid Deployment Unit, Anti Stock Theft Unit, General Service Unit, and Border Patrol Unit. These officers have paramilitary training and have so far worked well with personnel from Haiti. https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2024-09-09-additional-600-elite-paramilitary-officers-train-for-haiti-mission/
Benin delays deployment of largest and only French-speaking troops for MSS
The West African nation of Benin is supposed to be a critical partner in the multinational security mission helping Haiti fight violent gangs — pledging the single-largest force of 1,500 to 2,000 soldiers, who also would be the only native French-speakers enlisted in the campaign. But now the nation’s deployment plans appear to be on hold. At issue is who Beninese troops, once deployed to Haiti, will be answering to and whether the international effort to stabilize and secure the country for elections should be carried out by police or military personnel.
“Our position and our commitment remains the same, to help Haiti,” Benin Foreign Minister Shegun Adjadi Bakari told the Miami Herald in an interview. “But since the beginning …we said clearly, what Haiti needs is not a police mission. We believe that we need a military mission in Haiti to fight against gangs, restore the security in the country and restore the stability, which is a prerequisite for any election.” https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article292429649.html#storylink=cpy
Digicel blocked from repairing cables for national internet access at Kaliko Beach private property
Since Saturday, September 14, most Digicel users have been experiencing difficulties, particularly with internet connectivity. In an interview on Magik 9 on Monday morning, Digicel's General Director, Jean Philippe Brun, expressed frustration that the owners of Kaliko Beach Club have denied access to the site for the company's technicians, preventing them from repairing equipment that connects a submarine cable to Digicel's data center. "This equipment runs through the private property of Kaliko Beach Club. The owners have refused us access, and we are unable to make the repairs as quickly as we should. We need access to the site to restore full mobile internet services for all our customers," stated Brun.
The National Telecommunications Council (CONATEL) has initiated legal action to grant Digicel access to the Kaliko Beach property in order to carry out repairs on its fiber-optic cables. This information was provided to Le Nouvelliste by a source close to the regulator. "The entire country should not bear the consequences of this dispute. That's why this action was taken to guarantee access to the site, allowing the company to resolve the issue. Later, the underlying problem and the dispute between the operator and its tenant will be addressed. This case requires special attention from multiple state entities," the source explained to Le Nouvelliste.
"The owners have cited a dispute between them and Digicel regarding royalties they claim we owe. Based on the various contracts we have, we informed them that they are mistaken. Furthermore, even if a conflict exists between two entities, it should be resolved in court or through arbitration. The entire country should not be affected because of a disagreement," Brun continued. In a statement released Monday afternoon, September 16, Digicel made it clear that it owes "no debt to Paret Hospitality Group S.A." Emmanuel Paret, the CEO of the company and owner of Kaliko Beach, had stated otherwise in an open letter published on September 15. "We inform the general public that there has been an ongoing legal case since 2021, which has yet to be decided by the courts. Until a ruling is made, Paret Hospitality Group S.A. cannot unilaterally demand financial compensation. It is unfortunate that an individual is disrupting access to an essential public service, especially during a time of insecurity when communication is critical. Additionally, it should be noted that this cable is used by all operators in the country, who are also affected," Digicel stated, adding that it reserves the right to take legal action against Emmanuel Paret for defamation. In his open letter, Emmanuel Paret stated that the company owes him $2.5 million. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/250297/conatel-takes-legal-action-to-secure-digicels-access-to-kaliko-beach
Dominican merchants refuse to sell at new market at Ouanaminthe border
Dominican merchants refuse to sell their products in the new market in Ouanaminthe funded by the European Union and assure that they will settle in this market when the situation in Haiti improves. Due to the insecurity in Haiti, Dominican merchants in the border market of Dajabón refuse to do business with Haitians in the new market in Ouanaminthe. A merchant stated that given the crisis in Haiti, conditions do not allow Dominican merchants to work on Haitian territory. "They have no security for themselves, how can they ensure the security of others?" Another said that as a merchant, he would not risk taking his goods to Haiti to sell them in the Ouanaminthe market because there was no real guarantee of security. https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-43172-icihaiti-insecurity-dominicans-refuse-to-sell-in-the-new-market-of-ouanaminthe.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
CARICOM is asked to replace members of Presidential Council implicated in scandal
After forming the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) last April, CARICOM has once again been approached by Haitian actors to replace members on the CPT. The EDE party confirmed to Le Nouvelliste that it has already submitted the name of Claude Édouard to CARICOM as a replacement for Smith Augustin. Representatives of the December 21 Accord informed the newspaper that negotiations are underway to replace Louis Gérald Gilles on the CPT, with Marjory Michel or Vikerson Garnier as potential candidates. To date, none of the three presidential advisors—Louis Gérald Gilles, Smith Augustin, and Emmanuel Vertilaire—implicated in the BNC corruption scandal have indicated any plans to resign from their positions on the CPT. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/250298/caricom-called-upon-to-replace-members-of-the-cpt
Customs performs well despite insecurity
The security conditions in the country do not seem to have significantly impacted the performance of customs. For August 2024, the revenue amounted to over nine billion gourdes (9,129,034,802 gourdes). Compared to August 2023, when revenue was around 10.7 billion gourdes, there has been a decrease of nearly 1.5 billion gourdes this year. However, this is only the second time in the history of customs that August revenues have exceeded 9 billion gourdes. In August 2022, revenue was 7.9 billion gourdes; in August 2021, it was 3.8 billion gourdes; and in August 2020, it was 3.2 billion gourdes. “This decrease of nearly 1.5 billion gourdes compared to August 2023 may be attributed to the economic situation and challenges related to insecurity, but it also shows a certain resilience of the customs institutions,” said a source close to the General Administration of Customs, who spoke to the newspaper on September 16, 2024.
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/250301/customs-over-9-billion-gourdes-collected-in-august
InterAmerican Bank calls for renewal of Haiti trade act
IDB President Ilan Goldfajn called for the renewal of the HOPE/HELP Act during a meeting on supporting Haiti’s economic development through private sector investment in Washington on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. “This program provides crucial support to the Haitian economy by offering preferential trade for Haitian-manufactured goods. The upcoming decision by the U.S. Congress on the HOPE/HELP program will be pivotal. These trade preferences are set to expire next year, and major American buyers will soon make their purchasing decisions,” he stated. “Maintaining the HOPE initiative for Haiti can help manufacturers retain essential export revenues in the short term,” he continued, emphasizing the need to break the vicious cycle of violence that severely impacts the population and negatively affects job creation in Haiti—a country facing its sixth consecutive year of economic contraction and worsening food insecurity affecting around five million people. “This situation, as highlighted by the IDB President, heavily burdens lives and livelihoods, and the economy is expected to contract for the sixth consecutive year in 2024. All of this perpetuates a vicious cycle where insecurity creates fewer economic opportunities, which in turn generates more insecurity and a fertile ground for crime and violence. We must act now to break this cycle by creating opportunities, including jobs. The Haitian private sector has a unique role to play in this regard,” Goldfajn explained, passionately advocating for the renewal of the HOPE/HELP Act, a critical piece of U.S. legislation highly relevant to the private sector in Haiti.
“If this law is not renewed, there is a risk of increased unemployment in Haiti,” said James Monazard, Minister of Commerce and Industry, in an interview with Le Nouvelliste. The Caracol Industrial Park has seen its jobs decrease from 16,000 to 6,000. Codevi currently has 18,000 jobs. It is crucial to retain these positions. “I am very optimistic about the renewal,” he assured.
Human Rights Watch calls on Latin American governments to do better for immigrants
A global human rights watchdog on Wednesday called on Latin American governments to improve protection schemes, grant legal status and reverse “onerous visa requirements” for millions of Haitians and Venezuelans who have struggled to find work, access to health care and education in South American host countries, forcing them to increasingly seek asylum in the United States. Human Rights Watch, in a report describing the situation of Haitian and Venezuelan migrants, said that “limited” integration and regularization policies in South America are forcing vulnerable people to head to the United States every month. To reach the U.S. border, many asylum seekers make a long, dangerous journey that includes crossing the Darien Gap, a roadless swath of jungle between Colombia and Panama. The group urged governments in Latin America to implement a “region-wide protection regime that would grant all Venezuelans and Haitians legal status for a fixed but renewable term of adequate duration,” even if they may not qualify for refugee status under domestic law. https://apnews.com/article/human-rights-venezuela-haiti-refugees-068a54a18ddbab713cf5d969ba27ae30
President Trump and others spread racist accusations endangering Haitian immigrants in Ohio and beyond
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is turning to a well-worn playbook, seizing on baseless claims that Haitian immigrants living in a southwestern Ohio city are abducting and eating local wildlife and their neighbors’ pets, to stoke fears over migrants living in the United States. On Monday, an official social media account of Trump’s 2024 campaign posted that “20,000 Haitian migrants were dumped into the small town of Springfield, Ohio. Here’s our Border Czar Kamala Harris bragging about bringing them to our country. ‘They need support.’” Another post claimed that “President Trump will deport migrants who eat pets. Kamala Harris will send them to your town next. Make your choice, America.” There’s no evidence to back up those claims. Karen Graves, a spokesperson for the city of Springfield, Ohio, said in a statement that “there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.” https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article292238615.html
A full break down with historical context about US and Haiti as well as Springfield, Ohio by Jonathan Katz: Trump’s Anti-Haitian Hate Has Deep American Roots. The former president’s grotesque demagoguery is just the latest in a long line of vicious attacks on residents and immigrants from the island nation. https://newrepublic.com/article/185909/trump-hatred-history-haitian-americans
The governor of Ohio will send law enforcement and millions of dollars in health care resources to the city of Springfield as it faces a surge in temporary Haitian migrants that has landed it in the national spotlight. Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday he doesn’t oppose the Temporary Protected Status program under which some 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of about 59,000 people since 2020, but said the federal government must do more to help impacted communities. On Wednesday, the Ohio State Highway Patrol will be dispatched to help local law enforcement with traffic issues that officials say have cropped up due to an increase in Haitians unfamiliar with U.S. traffic laws using the roads. DeWine said he is also earmarking $2.5 million over two years to provide more primary healthcare through the county health department and private healthcare institutions. DeWine’s family operates a charity in Haiti in honor of their late daughter, Becky, who died in a car accident. He said the Haitians who have moved to Ohio are generally hard-working people who love their families and who are seeking to escape the violence in their home country for good jobs in Ohio. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ohio-is-sending-troopers-and-2-5-million-to-city-where-many-haitian-migrants-have-relocated
Few Americans understand that asylum seekers and parolees are authorized to be in the United States—that they are not illegal and are protected from deportation. It is at least partly the fault of the terminology. The language used by the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, and usually reported without context in the media, tends to obfuscate. Last year, as I began my research, I stared at tables of data on the CBP website, trying to answer what I thought was a simple question: How many Haitians had legally entered the United States over the past year? Many emails later, a response came back from a spokesperson; the upshot was that migrants paroled into the country are considered “inadmissible” under the relevant statute even as they find jobs, send kids to school, and pay taxes. “Being granted humanitarian parole is legally distinct from being admitted into the country.” https://thebaffler.com/outbursts/in-the-twilight-zone-bhatia?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZj6sE6A46AFdoeurhE0zJ0OaRZkCaLlGVy2vPgh9MMHEOmRfS34ZMMdx8_aem_JUGiz3m9KOg6apo2SrdWO
OPINION/ANALYSIS
Opinion piece from Lydia Polgreen in New York Times about the racist rumors being fueled by the Republican presidential campaign: “But the past few days have convinced me that as much as we might want to laugh in the face of his absurdity, Trump is not weird. He is far more sinister and dangerous than that. And disbelieving laughter could, I fear, blind us to moments when truly unacceptable lines are crossed.” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/14/opinion/trump-debate-haitians-pets.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Kk4.TjHU.wS11iSw4pAt1&smid=url-share
Keith Mines, United States Institute for Peace on gangs and the efforts of US policy towards Haiti
The gangs still control most of Port au Prince, violence and kidnapping still very high. Numbers of displaced persons are still over 600,000 and 5 million Haitians are relying on humanitarian assistance. So still a lot, a lot to be done. And the gangs, to date, have not responded, have responded kind of oddly. They haven't directly confronted the new force. They continue to snipe at them whenever they get into a neighborhood, but basically they've been kind of working around them in some instances, allowing the force to secure a town or a neighborhood, but then coming back in when they leave. So, for right now, the Haitian police are not large enough to hold areas once they've secured them. This has been a long-term problem, and the police really are going to need bigger numbers, more capacity, to be able to stay the course once they get in. So, it's not really clear what the long-term strategy is for the gangs, whether they'll continue this kind of shadow boxing, or whether they'll directly confront the force, but for now, there's something to build on, and there's a wave of progress that's encouraging. That's what the secretary went to Haiti to reinforce. I mean two visits back-to-back like that, that's actually pretty significant. It means that the United States really does want to draw attention to Haiti.
It's pervasive, but it's also just a level of cruelty that is really off the charts. These are just vicious, really unhinged gangs. So that's still there. It's still going on. Again, the forces started to confront the gangs in certain places and on certain levels, and it's really a question of sustainability now. Can they go into an area, put the gangs off to the side and then establish a police station which remains? The gangs have been really visual about this too. They'll go in with a wrecking ball and they'll knock down a police station or a prison to make the point that not only can we chase the police out, we even have the power to come in and knock down their building. So that's a big, it's a big task. https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/09/keith-mines-haitis-recent-progress-and-us-support-its-transition