Haiti’s armed gangs They summoned a series of demonstrations in repudiation of the arrival, scheduled for the 26th of this month of May, of the multinational force to restore security to the nation and that Kenya will lead.
The demonstrations are organized by the armed coalition “Vivre Ensemble” (Living Together), directed by the powerful former Haitian police officer Jimmy Cherisieraka “BBQ”.
Carrefour, south of Port-au-Prince, is practically paralyzed this Saturdayjust like on Friday, since the armed structures that control the area demand that the population prepare to take to the streets to demonstrate against the arrival of the police forces.
To attract large crowds, bandits are forcing thousands of people to take to the streets under threat of being beaten, killed or expelled if they refuse, as happened on Friday in Fontamara, in the south of the capital; in Bel-air, in the heart of the capital, and in Canaan, at the northern entrance to Port-au-Prince, where thousands of citizens demonstrated.
In the massive demonstrations, Heavily armed men wearing balaclavas shouted slogans hostile to the international community. Yet the multinational assistance force to the Haitian Police, approved last October by the Security Council of the United Nations (UN).
Information circulating on social networks suggests that gang leaders are putting pressure on their members to prevent them from fleeing into the interior before the arrival of the international force.
Meanwhile, armed gangs gain new territories and Friday night they took over the police station in the town of Gressierat the southern entrance to the capital, which until then was not under the control of the gangs.
It has also been reported a resurgence these days of kidnappings in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, at the same time that there is a timid resumption of school activities in the capital.
For several days, US military planes have been coming and going on the runway at the Toussaint Louverture airport in Port-au-Prince, as part of the preparations for the initial deployment of the multinational force.
More than one hundred US military flights are expected in the coming days, according to local press.
Haiti is experiencing a crisis at all levelsaggravated by the terror imposed by armed gangs, a situation that led to the resignation of the prime minister, Ariel Henryand gave way to the installation in April of the Transitional Presidential Council, which must prepare the way for holding elections to choose a new president no later than February 7, 2026.
This country, the poorest in America, last held presidential elections in 2016, when it won Jovenel Moisemurdered on July 7, 2021 by an armed group at his private residence in Port-au-Prince.
(With information from EFE)
