Gangs in Haiti try to seize control of main airport

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Armed gangs attempted to take control of Haiti’s main international airport Monday in the latest of a series of attacks, including one that led to a mass escape from two major prisons.

Gangs clashed with police and soldiers in front of Toussaint Louverture International Airport, which was closed when the attack occurred, with no planes operating or passengers on site.

The attack occurred just hours after armed gang members overran the country’s two biggest prisons and freed more than 3,800 inmates. Authorities ordered a nighttime curfew following the assault and the government said it would try to track down the escaped inmates, some of whom are accused of murders and kidnappings.

The hostilities have come amid the absence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is in Kenya trying to finalize details for the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to retake control of the country.

Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer known as Barbecue, who is now a powerful gang leader, has said that the goal is to prevent Henry’s return. It is uncertain whether he will return to Haiti, given the growing security risk inside the country.

At least nine people have been killed since Thursday, including four police officers, and the UN estimates that about 15,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to the latest wave of violence that led the US to advise its citizens to leave “as soon as possible” and Canada to temporarily close its embassy.

Haiti has been grappling with a wave of gang violence in recent years, worsened by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Violent gangs now control up to 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince, and they terrorize people through killing, kidnapping and raping and there seems to be no end in sight.

Haiti’s national police has about 9,000 officers to provide security for more than 11 million people, according to the UN.