Amid the growing violence that is taking place in the streets of Port-au-Prince and the widespread discontent over the dominance of criminal gangs, the United States Embassy in Port-au-Prince announced on August 8 the closure of some of its operations and the restriction of its personnel. until further notice after a “shot warning” near the compound. This episode marks a new element in the serious security crisis suffered by the Caribbean country, ravaged by gangs and inequality.
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This August 8, through an official statement, the US embassy in Haiti announced the implementation of restrictions on the premises and the confinement of its staff after a day of violence that involved the exchange of fire in the vicinity of the diplomatic headquarters. .
Given the acts of violence in the capital city that houses the diplomatic delegation, the facilities were closed until further notice and were only open for “limited operations.”
“Traveling between the compounds is prohibited” since “some routes to the embassy may be affected due to the continuous firing,” pointed out the diplomatic corps.
The statement comes a day after strong protests were registered in the streets against insecurity and the dominance of gangs.
The announcement of the diplomatic mission is read as one more element in an escalation that allows us to see the complexity and progression of the extreme conditions of habitability in the Caribbean country; escalation of which the closure of some headquarters of international humanitarian organizations is already part.
Social discontent takes to the streets of Port-au-Prince
Last Monday, August 8, the hectic streets of the capital of the island nation were flooded by a tide of people who were pushed to take to the public highway once again.
The thousands of people who marched towards the official residence of the prime minister were dispersed when upon arrival they found a police siege that forced them to withdraw using tear gas.
“I can not work. I cant go out. I am like a prisoner in my own house,” said Wilene Joseph, a street vendor and mother of two minors who was in the contingent, adding that she fears for her children as “bullets fly from all directions all the time.” .
Living conditions in the country have severely and vertiginously deteriorated, a situation that worsened after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in 2021 and which has generated a string of sporadic protests.
The demands of the population are the same: protection against the widespread power and influence of the gangs, violence of all kinds, thefts, murders, kidnappings and rapes sow terror in public and private spaces.
It is estimated that the gangs have total control over more than 80% of Port-au-Prince and between January and March alone, 1,600 people have been reported murdered, which represents an increase of 30% compared to the last quarter of 2022, according to United Nations reports. .
The scourge of kidnappings is just as alarming: 300 of these cases have been reported so far this year, equivalent to almost 300% of those reported in 2021; the victims of this criminal model are increasingly women and children.
One of the most notorious recent cases of kidnapping was the abduction of Alix Dorsainvil, a humanitarian worker who was taken along with her daughter from the clinic where she worked as a nurse.
The event generated outrage among the local population, who came out to demonstrate on July 31 demanding his release. From that moment on, the US embassy requested the withdrawal of all non-humanitarian personnel present in the Caribbean country.
Haiti at the extremes: abandonment or intervention
Kenya’s intention to lead an international peacekeeping force in Haitian territory has been around among the international community, an offer that has been applauded by different leaders and important figures such as the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres.
But in the Caribbean country there is a very high need for a humanitarian response to the multidimensional crisis that it has been facing for years, however some organizations have announced the closure of their headquarters or the indefinite suspension of their humanitarian work given the very high levels of insecurity that they put into question. risk the integrity of the personnel who operate them.
Likewise, Haiti is dealing with dizzying food insecurity that keeps a large part of the country in a condition of extremely serious vulnerability. According to the UN, at least five million people in the territory of the Caribbean country struggle to feed themselves every day.
Given this scenario, the World Food Program has made a 25% cut in the support sent to the Caribbean nation on the pretext of lack of budgetary resources. This measure will leave at least 100,000 people without life support, as well as minors who will stop receiving school lunches, which in most cases is the only food they had access to that day.
The World Food Program has announced that cuts in humanitarian aid to Haiti could continue to ease if budgetary conditions remain unchanged.
With AP, Reuters and EFE
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