On 7 July 2021, Jovenel MoĂŻse was
assassinated, allegedly by a group of 28 foreign mercenaries; three of the suspected assassins were killed and 20 arrested, while a
manhunt for the other gunmen, as well as for the masterminds of the attack, remains ongoing as of July 2021[update].[3][17] On 20 July 2021,
Ariel Henry assumed the office of acting
prime minister.
In March 2024, acting prime minister Henry was prevented from returning to Haiti after a trip intended to secure the help of the Kenyan police in curbing gang violence.[22] The power vacuum, along with the chaos in the streets, led to the scheduling of an emergency
CARICOM meeting on 11 March.[23] On 11 March, Henry announced his resignation under pressure from protesters, gangs, and the international community, to be effective upon the naming of a new Prime Minister and cabinet by a transitional council.[24]
A new round of protests broke out in February 2021 amid a dispute over MoĂŻse's presidential term. The protesters claimed that MoĂŻse's term officially ended on 7 February 2021 and demanded that he step down. MoĂŻse said that Haitian presidents have five years to serve according to the constitution and that he had one more year to serve since he only became president in February 2017. Protesters also expressed concerns about the
2021 Haitian constitutional referendum, a referendum proposed by MoĂŻse which would reportedly scrap the ban on consecutive presidential terms and enable MoĂŻse to run again.[30]
From 2017 to 2021, with Haiti's political leadership deadlocked, public administration virtually shut down due to a lack of funding, and the judicial system in shambles, gangs seized political power through co-operative politicians, and economic control through financing by the business elite, protection rackets, kidnappings and murders.[4]
In mid-August 2018, Haitian-Canadian Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. tweeted a photo of himself blindfolded holding a cardboard sign with "Kot kĂČb PetwoKaribe a ?" ("Where did the PetroCaribe money go?") written on it. The hashtag petrocaribechallenge was soon circulated on social media.[35][36] According to Shearon Roberts, such messaging served initially to inform the international community that a regime change effort was underway. Haitian media then shared the hashtag offline, amplifying the message within the country.[37]
Anger over the revelations and accusations from the continuing investigation simmered into the autumn and boiled over again, first in October 2018, with tense scenes and violence in
Les Cayes, in
Jacmel, and in
Saint-Marc.[38] A week of protests in November 2018 led to 10 deaths, including several killed when a government car "lost a wheel and plowed into a crowd."[39]
2019 protests
February
Significant protests broke out again in February 2019 following a report from the court investigating the Petrocaribe Senate probe.[40][41][42] Economic problems and the increased cost of living helped fuel the protests.[42]
On 7 February, protesters targeted and damaged wealthy Haitians' luxury vehicles. The following day, the mayors of
Petion-ville and Port-au-Prince announced the cancellation of pre-
Haitian Carnival events.[42] Two days later protestors clashed with police, with demonstrators throwing stones at the home of President MoĂŻse, after one of his allies' security personnel struck a woman's car and began to beat her.[43] On 12 February, protesters burned down a popular market, looted stores and assisted with a prison break in
Aquin that freed all of the facility's prisoners.[41][44] In Port-au-Prince, the building housing the Italian and Peruvian consulates was looted by protesters.[45][46]
President MoĂŻse addressed the country on 14 February, saying he would not step down and "give the country up to armed gangs and drug traffickers."[47] During a funeral procession on 22 February, Haitian police fired
tear gas at a crowd of about 200 people carrying the casket of a man killed during protests days earlier. Opposition leader Schiller Louidor called for future protests, though the overall size of protests began to subside that day.[48]
During escalating protests on 10 June, journalist Rospide Petion was shot and killed in a company car on his way home from Radio Sans Fin in Port-au-Prince, where he had criticized the government on air before leaving the station.[52][53]
Although the Haitian constitution calls for legislative elections in October, none were held in October 2019.[51] The
United Nations announced they had counted 42 deaths and 86 injuries since mid-September.[63]
November
Peyi lok ("country lockdown")[60] is how the situation was described in
Haitian Creole in November 2019 after two and a half months with schools, courts, businesses, public services, and economic production largely shut down.[60][64]
December
Although parents and school directors still felt uneasy amidst barricades and gunfire, schools across the country began to reopen in December.[65][66]
The U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (
David Hale) visited Haiti on 6 December, following up on
U.S. Ambassador to the UNKelly Craft's November visit.[67] During his visit, he met with the administration and with leaders from several opposing political parties, some of whom, including
Fanmi Lavalas and
Fusion-Mache Kontre, refused any collaboration with President MoĂŻse.[68] On 10 December, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee began hearings on the situation in Haiti, which
Frederica Wilson had pushed for. At the hearing,
Maxine Waters was sharply critical of U.S. support for President MoĂŻse. Neither the State Department nor
USAID was present at the hearings.[69]
2019 actions
MoĂŻse government
President Jovenel MoĂŻse called for his opposition to participate in peaceful dialogue, saying that "the country's problems aren't solely political. The country's problems are social, economic and political."[42] The national police stated that there are "malicious individuals" who had interrupted peaceful protests in the country.[70]
Opposition
The opposition has been led by
Jean-Charles MoĂŻse.[14] This opposition declined offers for dialogue, demanded President MoĂŻse's resignation,[42] and organized a nationwide
general strike to attempt to force him to resign from office.[44] Alongside opposition lawmakers, he called for a transitional government to replace MoĂŻse: "If Jovenel MoĂŻse does not want to step down from power, we are going to name an interim president in the coming days."[14][71]
In September and October 2020, more protests occurred throughout the country in reaction to the perception of an insufficient government response to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Haiti, in particular concerning support for those who lost their jobs because of the lockdown. Due to the lack of parliamentary elections, Jovenel MoĂŻse was governing through executive orders.[75]
Police held protests demanding better pay and working conditions. The police exchanged fire with Haitian soldiers outside the
National Palace where police were protesting working conditions in February. In early 2020, a United Nations report said the Haitian police was corrupt, and failing to protect the population.[75]
On 14 January 2021, hundreds demonstrated in
Port-au-Prince,
Cap-HaĂŻtien,
Jacmel,
Saint-Marc, and
GonaĂŻves against President MoĂŻse. Most of the demonstrations were peaceful, but some violence was reported.[77] On 20 January, hundreds again demonstrated in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien to protest against President MoĂŻse. One woman was shot by
rubber bullets, and several others were wounded during protests.[78] On 28 January, journalists, lawmakers, police officers, retirees, former police officers, and human rights judges led protests against human rights abuses and
police brutality, violence, and repression against protesters and chanted "When they don't get paid, we're the ones they call!"[79]
Thousands of Haitians, including doctors and lawyers, demonstrated peacefully in Port-au-Prince on 7 and 9 March, under the slogan #FreeOurCountry, calling for President MoĂŻse and Prime Minister
Joseph Jouthe to resign and a crackdown on kidnappers.[91][92] The hashtag FreeHaiti led opposition demonstrations across Haiti on 15 March, to protest the killing of four police officers in a village in Port-au-Prince, corruption, and armed gangs controlling cities.[93] On 17 March, the Fantom 509 militia staged a jailbreak to free four arrested police officers.[94] In late March, protests were focused on the unpopular referendum to amend the constitution scheduled for 27 June ahead of
legislative, local and presidential elections scheduled for the fall.[95]
April
In April, protesters circled the Presidential palace seven times drawing Vodou images in chalk on the ground in an effort to symbolically free themselves from the scourge of gang kidnappings. The protest was met by police firing
tear gas.[96]
Badio was arrested by Haitian police in connection with the murder on 19 October 2023.[100] Also in 2023, a former Haitian senator,
Joseph Joël John, who hoped to become president,[101] a retired
Colombian army officer, GermĂĄn Alejandro Rivera Garcia, a Haitian businessman, Rodolphe Jaar, andâin 2024âa former
DEA informant, Joseph Vincent, were sentenced to life in prison in a
Miami court for their roles in the assassination.[102]
In 2023 the situation in Haiti continued to spiral downhill, with the last democratically elected officials leaving office, leaving Haiti without an elected government.[121] Four police officers killed by the
Vitel'Homme gang in Petionville and seven police officers killed by the Savien gang on 25 January in Liancourt lead protesting police to storm Prime Minister Ariel Henry's residence. The riots ended a few days later.[122] Canada announced on 6 February that they would begin surveillance flights to Haiti in order to monitor the situation in the country.[123] According to leaked American documents in late February, the
Wagner Group began to explore pathways and expressed interest in intervening in Haiti.[124]
A series of battles between gangs in early March led to the deaths of 208 people, kidnapping jumped 72% from the first quarter of the previous year.[125] Doctors, lawyers, and other wealthy members of society were kidnapped and held for ransom.[126] Examples include Jean-Dickens Toussaint and Abigail Toussaint, a Haitian American couple who were kidnapped on 18 March and later released,[127] Robert Denis, the director of the TV station Canal Bleu kidnapped on 11 April,[128] and Harold Marzouka, the Vice-Consul of
Saint Kitts and Nevis and CEO of Haiti Plastics, kidnapped on 15 April.[129] Many victims were killed when ransom demands were not met, leading those with the means to do so to flee the country, further hampering efforts to pull the country out of the crisis.[126] Violence continued into April, with three police officers being killed in an ambush on 9 April by the Ti Makak gang in the Thomassin neighborhood.[130] 13 gang members were burned alive by a mob as they were being detained by police.[131]
On 27 July, the United States ordered its non-essential personnel to leave the country as quickly as possible. This order was given the same day an American nurse and her child were kidnapped, with 80% of the capital reportedly controlled by gangs.[132]
On 18 September, the feuding G-PĂšp and G9 gangs reached an agreement to form a so-called Viv Ansanm ("Live together") coalition. Any hope this inspired was short-lived however, as by 22 September, the Taliban gang of Canaan run by Jeff Larose was leading an attack on the touristic town of
Saut-d'Eau at the request of 5 Seconds gang leader Johnson âIzoâ Alexandre, resulting in many injuries and at least 12 deaths. The motive for the attack, which lasted several days and spread to
Mirebalais, was thought to be related to arms smuggling.[133]
As of September 2023, reports indicated that approximately 80% of the Haitan capital was under the control of gangs.[134] The growing crisis has led to discussions of a potential 1,000 strong
United Nations backed Kenyan-led police intervention into Haiti, which Kenya had previously offered but which Haiti was at first reluctant to accept.[135][136] On 2 October 2023,
United Nations Security Council resolution 2699 was approved, authorizing the "
multinational security support mission" to Haiti.[137] If such an intervention were to occur, it would be the first time an
African Union country would lead a major peacekeeping operation outside of Africa.[138] On 5 October 2023, Kenyan
foreign ministerAlfred Mutua was replaced by
Musalia Mudavadi amid domestic controversy over the plans.[139]
In a 2023 UN report Robert Muggah estimated there could be as many as half a million weapons in the country. When interviewed in 2024, he said that "more than 80 percent" of those traced by the "
ATF between 2020 and 2022 were made [in] or imported from the U.S."[140]
A UN report issued on 15 January indicated that in the preceding year there had been 2,490 kidnappings and 4,789 reported homicides.[140] On 1 February, Joly Germine, a leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to smuggling arms[140] such as "
AK-47s,
AR-15s, an
M4 carbine rifle, an
M1A rifle, and a .50 caliber rifle, described by the ATF as a military weapon," into Haiti, piloting the operation from a Haitian prison.[141]
A surge in gang violence caused significant casualties, with 1,554 deaths and 826 injuries in the first quarter of the year. Gangs used
sexual violence as a means of control and punishment, with reports of women being raped during gang invasions of neighborhoods, often after witnessing the murder of their partners. Gangs are also known to force women into exploitative relationships and use the rape of hostages to extort ransoms from families. They are also known for recruiting children.[144]
On 26 January, a judge from
Kenya's High Court halted the deployment of police officers to Haiti, on the grounds that the National Security Council lacked the legal power to send police officers abroad. The government said it would appeal the ruling,[149] offering to circumvent the High Court's earlier ruling.
On 25 February 2024,
Michel Patrick Boisvert assumed interim leadership of the government while the prime minister traveled to Kenya to negotiate the deployment of Kenyan police forces to Haiti.[150]
On 11 March 2024 Henry announced that he would resign and that a transitional council (whose membership would be determined in Jamaica at an emergency
CARICOM meeting) would select an interim prime minister.[5] The Kenyan government suspended the deployment of its police force in Haiti until a new government was in place.[164] Henry's resignation coincided with the swearing-in of the Transitional Presidential Council on 25 April, prior to which Michel Patrick Boisvert was named interim prime minister by the resigning prime minister and the Council of Ministers.[165]
On 13 March, the
Pitit Desalin party withdrew from the transitional council to create its own council, slated to include Guy Philippe,[166] who had called for amnesty for some in the gangs whose actions brought down the Henry government.[167] One week later, after encouragement from a "a big country", Jean-Charles MoĂŻse reversed course and decided to name Emmanuel Vertilaire, on advice from the National Network of Farmers.[168] According to researchers at the
Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), Philippe had lost significant support in HaĂŻti by early April.[169]
On 24 March, Dominique Dupuy, who had replaced the only other woman on the council (Marie Ghislaine Mompremier) four days earlier,[168] resigned after receiving death threats and becoming the target of misogynistic comments. She was replaced by Smith Augustin.[170]
Composition of the transitional presidential council[170][171]
After weeks of negotiation, a deal was sent to CARICOM on 7 April for a temporary government whose mandate will end on 7 February 2026. One of the council's tasks is to elect a prime minister, who cannot already be a member of the transitional council or the provisional government.[173] The transitional council was officially created by a governmental decree published in Le Moniteur on 12 April 2024. The names of the representatives of the seven parties were not initially published, as each person still needed to submit documents to the government to confirm their eligibility.[174]
The next day, the transitional council rejected the governmental decree and called upon the members of the resigning government to publish the agreement without modification.[175] Differences introduced in the decree include that individuals are ineligible for appointment to the Council if they have been sanctioned by the United Nations, if they are under criminal indictment or have been found guilty of a crime in any jurisdiction, or if they oppose the introduction of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti. Similarly, the government added in article 5 that all members must pursue the accelerated deployment of the international security force.[176] On 16 April, the government published a second order modifying the decree to include the names which had initially been proposed by the transitional council which had assembled in Kingston.[171] The members were sworn in on 25 April.[165]
On 28 May, the CPT held a meeting to chose the next prime minister. Garry Conille, who was briefly prime minister during the Martelly administration and worked as former UN Special Envoy
Bill Clinton's chief of staff, was unanimously designated by the six councillors present.[177]
Note
^EDE / RED / Historic compromise counts Jovenel MoĂŻse's prime minister
Claude Joseph among its leadership, while the 21st December Agreement is close to deposed prime minister Ariel Henry. The private sector refers to allied business associations including, for example, the
ADIH.[172]
Instability and roadblocks causing medical and food insecurity across the country
Gangs also raided a power station and four substations, stealing equipment and leaving parts of the capital without power.[181] On 18 March, 14 bodies were found after a gang attack in Petion-ville, a wealthy neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Police protection allowed an administrative judge to escape when his home was attacked. UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell compared the anarchic situation to a scene from Mad Max.[182]
On 27 March, it was announced that that the U.S. would provide $10 million worth of helmets, bulletproof vests, weapons, and ammunition to the Haitian national police from surplus material at the Department of Homeland Security, with U.S. funding for the Multinational Security Support stalled.[188] It was announced the same day that 170 French nationals and 70 others had been evacuated in the past week by special forces aboard
Cougars and
Caracals flown into
Fort-de-France for transport on the helicopter carrier Tonnerre specially for the operation.[189]
On 6 April, police were able to regain control of the Magalie, a freighter at the Varreux terminal in Port-au-Prince whose crew had been kidnapped and whose cargo had been looted of 10,000 bags of rice by the 5 Seconds and Taliban gangs two days earlier. Neither the rice nor the crew members were recovered in the operation.[193][194] The Taliban gang was also reported to have destroyed a police station in the
Canaan suburb with a
front loader.[195]
Until 20 May 2024,[196] civilian flights into
Toussaint Louverture International Airport remained suspended,[197] though authorities had nationalized space around the perimeter of the airport and torn down 350 buildings to increase security.[198]
Vigilante action
The "bwa kale" movement, which had begun in 2023 when a group of armed men "lynched and set fire to around a dozen men believed to be gang members",[199] continued apace in late March 2024.[200]
For example, on 29 March 2024, two men suspected of preparing to buy arms for gangs were taken from police custody and hacked to pieces by a mob in a small town near
Mirebalais.[201]
The United States has pledged $200 million to the international police force approved by the
UN and an additional $100 million in humanitarian aid.[203] Canada announced $123 million to support Haiti, including $80.5 million for the mission.[204][205] As of March 2024, the U.N. indicated that $78 million had been formally pledged, of which only $10.8 million was deposited, by Canada and France.[44][206]
The US military began flying cargo planes into the Port-au-Prince airport on 23 April[207] and by mid-May had transported over 500 tons of material, including equipment for the Haitian National Police, medical equipment, and food.[208] On 27 May, the arrival of the first contingent of Kenyan forces, which had been rescheduled for the end of May, was again delayed.[209]
Violence towards the press
According to the
Committee to Protect Journalists, some reporters have been targeted by protesters.[70]Reuters journalist Robenson Sanon was wounded during the protests in February 2019 but believes that it was coincidental because he was caught in-between clashes.[70]
United States:
U.S. Department of State spokesperson for Western Hemisphere Affairs stated in 2019: "We support the right of all people to demand a democratic and transparent government and to hold their government leaders accountable but there is no excuse for violence. Violence leads to instability, less investment, and fewer jobs."[45] The United States prepared humanitarian assistance to ensure food security in Haiti, and called for those responsible for corruption to be held accountable.[211] The U.S. State Department urged all U.S. citizens on 30 August 2023 to leave Haiti as soon as possible due to rising violence.[212]
In March 2024, the U.S. airlifted non-essential staff from its embassy and reaffirmed its support for a Kenyan police presence.[213]
After the airport in Cap-HaĂŻtien reopened, the US resumed deportations to Haiti on 18 April after a three-month hiatus.[214]
Immediately after the publication of the decree creating the Transitional Council on 12 April, the U.S. President authorized $60 million in aid to the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti using the Presidential Drawdown Authority.[215]
Canada: In December 2022, Canada imposed economic sanctions on
Gilbert BigioâHaiti's richest businessman, part of the Syrio-Lebanese eliteâfor his role in "protect[ing] and enabl[ing] the illegal activities of the armed criminal gangs".[19][20]
Mexico: Foreign Minister
Alicia BĂĄrcena condemned the violence in Haiti, and said that the solution must come from within the country and without external interference.[216]
Venezuela: President
NicolĂĄs Maduro called for an "integral support" to Haiti, including in the economic and social scenarios.[216]
CARICOM: In 2019, CARICOM expressed concern "about the continuing violent protests in Haiti, [...] the loss of life, property, [and the] destruction of infrastructure". It called for "constructive dialogue".[218] In 2024, they planned an emergency meeting for 11 March in Jamaica.[23]
In March 2024 the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for urgent action, particularly in providing financial support for a multinational security support mission, to restore law and order in Haiti.[222] According a report by the UN's
International Organization for Migration 13,000 Haitian migrants were returned to the country by its neighbors in March 2024âan increase of 46 percent from February. The
UNHRC has called for states to stop returning migrants given the current insecurity.[223]
^Roberts, Shearon (2023), "Haiti: Building Social Capital through Media Connectivity", in Waldron-Moore, Pamela (ed.),
Designing Knowledge Economies for Disaster Resilience(PDF), Berghahn Books, pp. 120â126,
archived(PDF) from the original on 9 April 2024, retrieved 17 March 2024
^Semple, Kirk (23 November 2018).
"Haitians Furious at Their Government Protest in a Week of Unrest". The New York Times.
Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019. It was the latest manifestation of a campaign that has flourished on social media and that focuses on allegations that Haiti's government misappropriated billions of dollars earmarked for reconstruction after a devastating earthquake in 2010.
^
ab"Nouvel assassinat de journaliste en HaĂŻti" [New assassination of journalist in Haiti] (in French). Reporters Without Borders. 11 October 2019.
Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
^"Several dead as gang leader escapes in Haiti prison break".
Al Jazeera English. 26 February 2021.
Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2024. One of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders, Arnel Joseph, escaped from a prison in the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince during a riot that left several people dead, authorities told local media.
^"Haiti PM sacks prosecutor who accused him of links to president's murder". France 24. AFP. 14 September 2021.
Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024. A prime minister legally cannot be questioned unless the president authorizes it, but in the wake of Moise's slaying, Haiti does not have a president.