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☆ Haiti's Police Force Shrinks Amid Gang Crisis -Union
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Police need significantly higher incentives to justify the dangers, the report said, amid a shrinking force and lack of equipment, training and infrastructure. Lazarre said the situation was difficult but police had made progress, recovering control of six neighborhoods and coming close to recovering another. Last November, the United Nations estimated some 3,960 had been killed through the year and 2,951 kidnapped. Haiti's government called for international reinforcements in October 2022 and the United Nations ratified sending a force composed of voluntary contributions late last year. Haiti's armed forces were disbanded in 1995 and reinstated in 2017, but the national police remains the main security force.

Persons: Lionel Lazarre, Lazarre, It's, Ariel Henry's, Harold Isaac, Sarah Morland, Stephen Coates Organizations: PORT, Reuters, Police, United Nations Locations: Kenya, Caribbean, Port, Mexico City

☆ Haitian gangs call for armed overthrow of PM Henry as chaos escalates
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Ralph Tedy Erol | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Former police officer Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, leader of the 'G9' coalition, leads a march surrounded by his security against Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. "We are launching the fight to overturn Ariel Henry's government in any way," gang leader Cherizier told Reuters. The assassination created a power vacuum, with Prime Minister Ariel Henry governing on an interim basis since. Henry has pledged to hold elections once security is re-established, and has called for international help in fighting the gangs. "If the international community has nothing to do with (Moise's) death, they must not support Ariel Henry."

Persons: Jimmy, Ariel Henry, Ralph Tedy Erol, Ariel Henry's, Cherizier, Jovenel Moise, Henry, Kylie Madry, Alex Richardson Organizations: Haiti's, REUTERS, Reuters, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Port, Prince, Haiti, Carrefour, Kenya

☆ Haitian Gangs Call for Armed Overthrow of PM Henry as Chaos Escalates
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

The assassination created a power vacuum, with Prime Minister Ariel Henry governing on an interim basis since. Henry has pledged to hold elections once security is re-established, and has called for international help in fighting the gangs. "If the international community has nothing to do with (Moise's) death, they must not support Ariel Henry." More than 19,000 people have been displaced from the capital in recent weeks due to the outbreak of armed violence, according to U.N. estimates. (Reporting by Ralph Tedy Erol; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Persons: Ralph Tedy Erol PORT, Ariel Henry, Jimmy, Ariel Henry's, Cherizier, Jovenel Moise, Henry, Ralph Tedy Erol, Kylie Madry, Alex Richardson Organizations: Reuters, United Nations Locations: Port, Haiti, Carrefour, Kenya

[1/2] A woman stands next to stacked school furniture, as she and others shelter at a school after fleeing their neighbourhood Carrefour Feuilles when gangs took over, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti August 16, 2023. "In a matter of days, violence escalated dramatically in Port-au-Prince, particularly affecting neighborhoods where the IRC collaborates with local organizations to provide vital services," the aid group said on Thursday. The IRC launched its Haiti response plan last December and works with a number of local groups around the capital, where much of the violence has taken place. Ann Lee, co-founder of U.S.-based crisis response group CORE, which is still operating in Haiti, said many aid groups had left as costs rise, financial aid dwindles and staff operates under increasingly life-threatening conditions. Lee said there was not a single member of CORE's 100-person Haiti team who did not know a victim of the violence.

Persons: Ralph Tedy Erol, Ann Lee, dwindles, Lee, Haiti's, Ariel Henry's, Sarah Morland, Josie Kao Organizations: Carrefour, REUTERS, International Rescue, IRC, U.S, CORE, Haiti, United Nations, Feuilles, Carrefour Feuilles, . Security, Kenyan, Thomson Locations: Carrefour Feuilles, Port, Prince, Haiti, Caribbean, Haiti's, Kenya

☆ Canada's Trudeau to deploy Navy vessels to Haiti for surveillance, presence
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NASSAU/PORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said he would deploy Royal Canadian Navy vessels in the coming weeks to conduct surveillance, gather intelligence and maintain a maritime presence off the coast of Haiti. Canada, which this month deployed surveillance aircraft to Haiti, has also sent armored vehicles and security gear to support anti-gang efforts and said it would make an additional delivery of vehicles in the coming days. Trudeau also announced fresh sanctions on another two Haitian individuals determined to be supporting gangs, without disclosing their names, bringing Canada's total sanctioned people to 17. U.N. envoy to Haiti Helen La Lime has said she is "still hopeful" the force could be created, stressing the need for urgency. On Tuesday, more than 40 civil society representatives signed an open letter rejecting any draft resolution backing Prime Minister Ariel Henry's administration and demanding reparations to the families of those killed in a U.N.-linked cholera outbreak a decade ago.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Haitian police officers on Thursday blocked streets and forced their way into the country's main airport to protest the recent killing of officers by armed gangs expanding their grip on the Caribbean nation. "PM is still at the Airport, unable to leave for now," said the source, who asked not to be identified. Haiti's National Police and the Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Roads around Port-au-Prince and in several cities to the north were blocked by protesters. The proposal was originally made three months ago but no country has offered to lead such a force.

REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File PhotoNov 4 (Reuters) - The United States and Canada on Friday imposed sanctions on two Haitian politicians, including the president of the country's Senate, as Washington accused them of abusing their positions to traffic drugs and collaborate with gang networks in the country. The sanctions target Haitian Senate President Joseph Lambert and Youri Latortue, who served as president of the chamber from 2017-2018, the U.S. Treasury Department and Canada's foreign ministry said in separate statements. The sanctions essentially freeze any assets Lambert and Latortue may hold in the United States or Canada and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. Lambert, Latortue and Prime Minister Ariel Henry's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Canada and the United States did not identify which Haitian gangs it believed were tied to the officials.

Haitian gangs have for a month prevented the distribution of diesel and gasoline, crippling businesses and hospitals and creating shortages of basic goods including water just as the country is struggling with a new outbreak of cholera. The State Department has created a new visa restriction policy targeting those who support the gangs and has sent a Coast Guard vessel to patrol Haitian waters. Sporadic looting and gun battles between gangs and police have become increasingly common in recent weeks as the shortages have led to mounting desperation. Another Biden administration official during the phone briefing said the travel bans were meant to hold accountable those who are linked to the gangs. "Our intent in doing so is to demonstrate that there are consequences for those who fund and foment violence in Haiti," the official said.

☆ Haiti looting caused loss of some $6 million in relief supplies, WFP says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Looting in Haiti this month led to the loss of at least $6 million of relief assistance including 2,000 tonnes of food, a World Food Programme official said on Monday, as the Caribbean nation struggles with civil unrest and chronic gang violence. Protests flared across Haiti following Prime Minister Ariel Henry's Sept. 11 announcement of a fuel price increase, triggering protests and street violence that included the sacking of WFP warehouses. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We estimate that at least six million dollars worth of relief supplies were lost," said Guarnieri, adding that the looting affected other non-profit organizations and UN agencies. Haiti's government this month moved to cut fuel subsidies, citing their high cost, triggering outrage in a nation already struggling with record-high inflation. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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