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After two months of paralysis, the main fuel supply terminal reopened after the armed group G9 decided to lift its blockade. The gang was initially shut down in response to rising fuel prices after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced that he would no longer be able to subsidize it.
The emotion of the Haitians was felt in the early hours of this Saturday, November 12, when the country’s gas stations reopened for the first time in two months. Haiti’s main fuel terminal, Verreux, had been blocked since September by the armed group G9.
After several days of clashes with the local police, the leader of the G9, a former police officer nicknamed “Barbacoa”, decided to lift the blockade on the terminal. Nearly 400 tanker trucks arrived earlier this week at the site, located in Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, to stock up. They were the ones in charge after depositing the fuel in the gas stations of the country under a strong police device.
The Verreux terminal holds 70% of the nation’s fuel storage capacity. That is why stopping its operation involved serious damage to many sectors that need the fuel to function, such as the health sector, precisely at a time when Haiti is experiencing a cholera outbreak.
“We are dying here”
In total, more than one million gallons of gasoline and a similar figure of diesel have been distributed through the country’s stations.
During the time of the blockade, the black market traded gasoline at about 30 dollars per gallon. A price that many could not afford to pay and that, furthermore, did not guarantee the quality of the fuel.
Arnel, a 28-year-old, summed it up like this: “Not all people are the same. Not everyone has the same ability to survive. We are dying here.”
Despite the joy that it means to see the circulation of fuels throughout the country again, the high prices imposed by the executive make the concern remain among the citizens. “They raised gas prices at the wrong time,” said Marc André, a 40-year-old driver. “It’s going to be pretty tough on people who don’t have anything,” he concluded.
In mid-September, Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced that his government could not subsidize fuel, in some cases going up to the equivalent of two to four dollars.
With AP, EFE and Reuters
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