A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep into a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***In the past month, criminal gangs in Haiti have staged a coordinated uprising, forcing the ouster of the country’s de facto prime minister, Ariel Henry. Violence has engulfed the country and its capital, Port-au-Prince, delaying a multinational security support mission that was supposed to help bring order to Haiti. According to United Nations estimates, over 17,000 people have so far been displaced.We asked five experts to tell us more about why this is happening and what might be next for the Caribbean nation. Read more below. Sophie Rutenbar Visiting Fellow, Foreign Policy Brookings InstitutionGangs have been part of the Haitian political and security landscape for decades, but over the past several years, they have become increasingly ruthless, independent, and well-resourced, supported by strong cash flows from extortion, kidnapping, and arms and drug trafficking. It was perhaps only a matter of time before the gangs developed political aspirations of their own. In early March, while Prime Minister Ariel Henry was out of the country, two rival gang coalitions united to prevent his return, eventually pushing the long-despised prime minister to offer his resignation pending the appointment of a new transitional body. While the Caribbean Community and international partners like the United States are working to establish a civilian-led transitional council, the efforts of gang coalition leader Barbecue (Jimmy Chérizier), as well as former coup leader and convicted drug trafficker Guy Philippe, to claim a place in transitional governance structures may represent a worrisome expansion of the armed groups’ ambitions. The Haitian National Police were already outgunned and losing officers to resignation quickly. Faced with these emboldened gangs, it’s difficult
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A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep into a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***In the past month, criminal gangs in Haiti have staged a coordinated uprising, forcing the ouster of the country’s de facto prime minister, Ariel Henry. Violence has engulfed the country and its capital, Port-au-Prince, delaying a multinational security support mission that was supposed to help bring order to Haiti. According to United Nations estimates, over 17,000 people have so far been
