Violent criminals are ravaging Haiti, a republic in the Caribbean, and have practically taken over the capital, Port-au-Prince. So far this year, 1,200 people have been killed. Prime Minister Ariel Henry is now stepping down. He announced his resignation during a meeting of the intergovernmental organization The Caribbean Community on Monday. It is happening after pressure from a former coup leader, but also from the gangs in the country. The powerful gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier has warned of civil war if he does not resign. Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier leads the G9 alliance. Many of the members are former police officers and soldiers. Photo: Matias Delacroix / AP – We will not give you lies, we are not in a peaceful revolution, we are leading a bloody revolution in the country, because the system is an apartheid system, a vicious system. That’s what “Barbecue” said on Monday, and asked that “Haiti get a chance” from the international community. Former coup leader will become president The outgoing prime minister says that a council of ministers in the Caribbean Community will set up a provisional transitional council to govern the country. – The members of the council are chosen by agreement with various sectors of society. The government that I lead will resign immediately after the establishment of this council, says Henry. But there is a man standing on the stairs, who has support in the gangs. The former coup leader Guy Philippe has said that he wants to become president of the country, and will grant amnesty to the gang members if he is elected. Guy Philippe led the coup d’état in Haiti in 2004. He claims that he is not connected to the gangs, but will still grant them amnesty if he becomes president. Photo: Daniel Morel / Reuters Philippe returned to Haiti last year, after serving a sentence for drug trafficking in the United States. Worse every day At the beginning of March, 4,000 inmates escaped from Haiti’s national prison, after repeated storms hit the prison. This was also an attempt to pressure the Prime Minister to resign. The Colombian gang members who are said to have been involved in the murder of former president Jovenel Moïse in 2021, with whom “Barbecue” was allied, sat in prison. Violence, looting and arson have become an integral part of the cityscape in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Photo: Odelyn Joseph / AP Prime Minister Henry has ruled the country since Moïse was shot and killed in 2021. He has not held an election since then. And the power in the country has only increased during his term as prime minister. Both the economy and the public health system are completely in shambles. The situation is absolutely desperate, and according to the UN, it is getting worse with each passing day. Gang members threaten torture, rape and murder to scare people, and last year as many as 200,000 people fled, according to Le Monde. Henry has been in Kenya since the end of February. When he was going to return to Haiti, he was refused entry in the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic. He was in Kenya to put in place an agreement to send a police force of 1,000 people to Haiti, to fight against the government in the country.
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Gangs taken over the capital – the prime minister resigns – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
