The Haitian Government declared on Sunday a state of emergency and a curfew for a renewable period of 72 hours in the department of Oeste, where Port-au-Prince is located, due to the “degradation of security” and the attacks on the eve of two prisons at the hands of armed gangs that have caused chaos in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
In a statement, the Executive indicates that in order to “restore order and take appropriate measures to regain control of the situation”, the curfew applies tonight until 5:00 a.m., and on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nearby from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
This measure does not affect members of the public force who are on duty, firefighters, ambulance drivers, health personnel and duly identified journalists.
“The law enforcement agencies have been mandated to use all legal means at their disposal to ensure that the ceasefire is respected and to arrest violators,” adds the note signed by Patrick Michel Boivert, who acts as prime minister in the absence of Ariel Henry.
The emergency decree comes after a dramatic escalation of violence over the weekend that paralyzed parts of the capital, damaged communications and led to two prison breaks, including one at the country’s largest prison.
The president of Digicel, a major telecommunications provider in the Caribbean country, said lines had been affected after days of street violence in parts of the capital.
Field teams managed to fully restore the connection on Sunday afternoon, Digicel President Maarten Boute said in a post on X, thanks to the “brave technicians who worked tirelessly, in very precarious conditions, to make this possible.” , he added.
Intense shootings have sparked panic in recent days after gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer, called on criminal groups to join him in overthrowing Prime Minister Henry, who is traveling in Kenya. Cherizier heads a gang alliance and faces sanctions from the UN and the United States.
Armed groups attacked the country’s largest prison on Saturday night, defying Haitian police forces, who had asked for help. Reuters visited the National Penitentiary on Sunday, where there was no sign of police officers and the prison’s main doors remained open.
“I’m the only one left in my cell,” an unidentified inmate told Reuters. “We were asleep when we heard the sound of bullets. The cell barriers are broken,” he said.
It was unclear how many inmates were at large. Sources close to the institution said it was probably an “overwhelming” majority. The penitentiary, built to house 700 prisoners, held 3,687 in February last year, according to human rights group RNDDH.
A volunteer prison worker said Sunday that 99 prisoners had chosen to remain in their cells for fear of dying in the crossfire.
Among them were the 17 retired Colombian soldiers who were imprisoned for their alleged involvement in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. One of them explained to the media that accessed the interior of the facility, including EFE, why he did not flee: “I didn’t fly because I don’t owe anything. I’m living karma, only God knows what I’m going through and what I’ve been dealt.” live”.
After this visit, the Colombian prisoners were transferred to “other facilities,” official sources confirmed to EFE. The Foreign Ministry of Colombia detailed in a statement that “the transfer of the Colombians deprived of liberty occurred after” sending “a diplomatic note to the Government of the Republic of Haiti, in which it requested that special protection be provided to the integrity physical and security of Colombian nationals deprived of liberty in that country”.
The bodies of three inmates who had tried to escape lay dead on Sunday in the courtyard of the prison complex, according to Reuters, and although there is no official data, at least fifteen of the escaped prisoners were murdered, as EFE was able to verify when counting the bodies. scattered throughout various parts of the capital.
A second Port-au-Prince prison housing about 1,400 inmates was also overrun, and gunmen occupied and vandalized the country’s main soccer stadium, holding an employee hostage for hours, Haiti’s soccer federation said.
Cherizier this week warned locals to stop children from going to school to “avoid collateral damage” as violence escalated in the prime minister’s absence.
Nearly 15,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in recent days, and 10 sites housing internally displaced people were emptied over the weekend, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The increase in attacks follows violent protests in recent days after the prime minister traveled to Kenya to try to advance the creation of a UN-backed security mission in Haiti that would be led by the East African country. .
Henry, who came to power in 2021 following the assassination of the country’s last president, Moïse, had previously promised to resign in early February. He later said that security must first be restored to ensure free and fair elections.
The Haitian National Police has approximately 9,000 officers to provide security to more than 11 million people, according to the UN. They are routinely overwhelmed and outgunned by gangs, which are estimated to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince.
The prime minister, a neurosurgeon, ignored calls for him to resign and has not commented when asked if he felt it was safe to return home.
