Haiti extends nighttime curfew, state of emergency

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Haiti’s government extended on Thursday the nighttime curfew and state of emergency in the capital of Port-au-Prince for a month amid a wave of violence unleashed by armed groups.

An initial three-day curfew was announced over the weekend, but gangs have continued attacking police stations and other official institutions, which has the police besieged and outnumbered to combat the armed gangs. According to official figures, a dozen police buildings have been attacked.

The measure was adopted in the absence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, whom the gangs seek to overthrow and who is in Puerto Rico after having signed a bilateral accord in Kenya to finalize details for the deployment of 1,000 police officers to retake control of the troubled Caribbean nation.

The violence increased after Henry committed on Thursday last week to hold elections in August 2025. Since then, the gangs who claim to seek to remove him from power have increased their attacks. The US government has asked Prime Minister Henry to “move forward with elections.”

Gang leader and former police officer Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier threatened on Wednesday to cause a "civil war" if Henry does not step down.

“If Ariel Henry doesn’t resign, if the international community continues to support him, we’ll be heading straight for a civil war that will lead to genocide,” Barbecue said.

Last Saturday, the assault on the two main prisons in the capital by armed groups allowed the escape of more than 4,500 inmates, among them gang members as well as those arrested in connection with the assassination of then-President Jovenel Moise in 2021.​​​​​​​

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Wednesday reported that 1,193 people have been killed since the beginning of the year, and 692 others have been injured by gang violence. The United Nations estimates that 15,000 people have been forced to flee from their homes in the capital due to the latest wave of violence, adding to the over 300,000 who had already been displaced by gang violence.

Turk urged the international community to act swiftly and urgently deploy the multinational security support mission in the Caribbean nation.