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Port-au-Prince is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defined by the IHSI as including the communes of Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Cite Soleil, Tabarre, Carrefour, and Pétion-Ville.
Cap-Haïtien, typically spelled Cape Haitien in English and often locally referred to as Le Cap, Okap or Au Cap, is a commune of about 274,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previously named Cap‑Français and Cap‑Henri during the rule of Henri I, it was historically nicknamed the Paris of the Antilles, because of its wealth and sophistication, expressed through its architecture and artistic life. It was an important city during the colonial period, serving as the capital of the French Colony of Saint-Domingue from the city's formal foundation in 1711 until 1770 when the capital was moved to Port-au-Prince. After the Haitian Revolution, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Haiti under King Henri I until 1820.
Cité Soleil is an extremely impoverished and densely populated commune located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in Haiti. Cité Soleil originally developed as a shanty town and grew to an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 residents, the majority of whom live in extreme poverty. The area is generally regarded as one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the Western Hemisphere and it is one of the biggest slums in the Northern Hemisphere. The area has virtually no sewers and has a poorly maintained open canal system that serves as its sewage system, few formal businesses but many local commercial activities and enterprises, sporadic but largely unpaid for electricity, a few hospitals, and two government schools, Lycée Nationale de Cité Soleil, and École Nationale de Cité Soleil. For several years until 2007, the area was ruled by a number of gangs, each controlling their own sectors. But government control was reestablished after a series of operations in early 2007 by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) with the participation of the local population.
Delmas is a commune in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, in the Ouest department of Haiti. Delmas itself is an urban continuation of the capital city. Delmas is also the location of much of the area's commercial and industrial enterprise.
On 13 November 2018, a massacre began within the La Saline slums of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. According to reports, at least 71 civilians were killed over a 24-hour period. It is alleged that the killings were either due to local gang wars or the actions of Haitian officials attempting to quell anti-corruption protests.
Protests began in cities throughout Haiti on 7 July 2018 in response to increased fuel prices. Over time, these protests evolved into demands for the resignation of Jovenel Moïse, the then-president of Haiti. Led by opposition politician Jean-Charles Moïse, protesters stated that their goals were to create a transitional government, provide social programs, and prosecute allegedly corrupt officials. From 2019 to 2021, there were massive protests calling for the Jovenel Moïse government to resign. Moïse had come in first in the 2016 presidential election, for which voter turnout was 21%. The 2015 elections had been annulled due to fraud. On 7 February 2021, supporters of the opposition allegedly attempted a coup d'état, leading to 23 arrests, as well as clashes between protestors and police.
Events in the year 2021 in Haiti.
Ariel Henry is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who served as the acting prime minister and acting president of Haiti from 20 July 2021, after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, until his formal resignation on 24 April 2024. He had also served as the acting Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities from 14 November 2022 until his resignation.
Jimmy Chérizier, nicknamed Barbecue, is a Haitian gang leader, former police officer, and warlord who is the head of the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies, abbreviated as "G9" or "FRG9", a federation of over a dozen Haitian gangs based in Port-au-Prince. Known for often making public appearances in military camouflage and a beret, he calls himself the leader of an "armed revolution". He had close connections with the Haitian Tèt Kale Party and was closely allied with Haitian president Jovenel Moïse until his assassination in 2021. Considered the most powerful gang leader and war criminal in Haiti, he is also currently believed to be one of the country's most powerful figures. He is believed to be responsible for numerous large-scale massacres against civilians in the Port-au-Prince area.
The 400 Mawozo gang is the largest gang in Haiti, mainly based in Ganthier and in Port-au-Prince's Tabarre and Pétion-Ville. It largely consists of deportees, former leaders of opposition groups, former smugglers and police officers. In 2022, it aligned itself with "G-Pep" after its leader was extradited to the United States. It came to international attention in October 2021 when it kidnapped U.S. citizens acting as missionaries in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
On 14 December 2021, a fuel tank truck exploded in the Samari neighborhood of Cap-Haïtien, the capital city of the Haitian department of Nord. At least 90 people were killed and more than 120 were injured; many people were injured as a result of rushing towards the tanker, likely to collect some of its cargo, before the explosion occurred. Many inhabitants were suffering from financial crisis.
Events in the year 2022 in Haiti.
The socioeconomic and political crisis in Haiti has been marked by rising energy prices due to the 2022 global energy crisis, as well as protests, and civil unrest against the government of Haiti, armed gang violence, an outbreak of cholera, shortages of fuel and clean drinking water, as well as widespread acute hunger. It is a continuation of instability and protests that began in 2018.
Since 2020, Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince has been the site of an ongoing gang war between two major criminal groups and their allies: the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies and the G-Pep. The Government of Haiti and Haitian security forces have struggled to maintain their control of Port-au-Prince amid this conflict, with gangs reportedly controlling up to 90% of the city by 2023. In response to the escalating gang fighting, an armed vigilante movement, known as bwa kale, also emerged, with the purpose of fighting the gangs. On 2 October 2023, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699 was approved, authorizing a Kenya-led "multinational security support mission" to Haiti.
The Bel Air massacre was a series of shootings, extrajudicial killings, and massacres that took place in the Bel Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti between August 2020 and May 2021. Between August and October 2020, G9 An Fanmi e Alye members attacked Bel Air residents, with continued attacks by the affiliated Krache Dife gang. The massacres died down until March 31, whenever renewed attacks began, sparking battles with Bel Air residents who defended themselves.
Events in the year 2024 in Haiti.
Between January 10 and 26, 2023, eighteen police officers were killed by Gan Grif, a gang operating in Port-au-Prince. The killings sparked riots in Port-au-Prince by Haitian police officers and police-affiliated gang Fantom 509, along with international condemnation.
Amid the unrest in Haiti since 2018, armed gangs stormed Haiti's two largest prisons in March 2024, resulting in more than 4,700 inmates escaping. The gangs demanded that prime minister Ariel Henry resign, attacking and closing Toussaint Louverture International Airport and preventing Henry from entering the country. The Haitian government declared a 72-hour state of emergency and a nighttime curfew in Ouest Department in an attempt to curb the violence and chaos. On 12 March 2024, Henry indicated his intention to resign as prime minister in response to the deteriorating security situation.
The Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies is a federation of 12 gangs led by former Haitian police officer Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier, notorious for extrajudicial massacres. The G9, along with other affiliated gangs, controls over 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince.
The Transitional Presidential Council is a temporary body constituted on 12 April 2024 and sworn in on 25 April to exercise the powers and duties of the President of Haiti either until an elected president is inaugurated or until 7 February 2026, whichever comes first. Prior to the announcement of Ariel Henry's resignation and the inauguration of the TPC, Michel Patrick Boisvert was named interim prime minister by the Council of Ministers. On 30 April, Edgard Leblanc Fils was named president of the TPC, and Fritz Bélizaire was designated as the prime minister by a majority, although the latter choice was contested within the council.
References
- ↑ Charles, Jacqueline (July 13, 2022). "Gang continues deadly attack on Haiti slum, sparking violent protests over fuel shortages". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- 1 2 3 "Haiti Gang Violence Leaves More Than 50 Dead, Mayor Says". The Voice of America. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ↑ "Jimmy Chérizier, alias 'Barbecue'". InSight Crime. August 19, 2021. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- ↑ "'Incredible cruelty': gang battles leave 150 dead in Haitian capital". The Guardian. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ↑ "Dozens dead, injured in Haiti's capital in gang clashes". AP News. July 12, 2022. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ↑ "Haiti: UN agencies warn of 'unabated' rise in hunger". UN News. March 22, 2022. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- ↑ Charles, Jacqueline (July 13, 2022). "Gang continues deadly attack on Haiti slum, sparking violent protests over fuel shortages". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- ↑ "Nearly 90 Dead In Haiti Gang Violence, As Country Slides Into Chaos". Barron's. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- 1 2 "Thousands trapped as gangs battle for control in Port-au-Prince". Al Jazeera. July 13, 2022. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2024.