Las Vegas Review-Journal

Haiti PM to resign, create power void

Gangs wield influence as politician­s scramble

- By Danica Coto and Evens Sanon

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Politician­s across Haiti are scrambling for power after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Tuesday that he would resign once a transition­al presidenti­al council is created.

But elbowing their way into the race are powerful gangs that control 80 percent of Haiti’s capital and demand a say in the future of the troubled country under siege.

No one mentioned the armed groups as Caribbean leaders congratula­ted themselves late Monday for setting Haiti on a new political path, and experts warned that nothing will change unless gangs become part of the conversati­on.

“Even if you have a different kind of government, the reality is that you need to talk to the gangs,” said Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia, noting that gangs largely control the capital. “If they have that supremacy, and there is no countervai­ling force, it’s no longer a question if you want them at the table. They may just take the table.”

Gangs have deep ties to Haiti’s political and economic elite, but they have become more independen­t, financing their operations with kidnapping ransoms to buy smuggled weapons, including belt-fed machine guns and .50-caliber sniper rifles that allow them to overpower underfunde­d police.

More than 200 gangs are estimated to operate around Haiti, mostly in Port-au-prince and surroundin­g areas. More than 20 of them are based in the capital and rally around two main coalitions: G9 Family and Allies led by Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as “Barbecue”; and G-pep, led by Gabriel Jean-pierre, who is allied with Johnson André, leader of the 5 Seconds gang and known as “Izo.”

 ?? Odelyn Joseph The Associated Press ?? Members of the G9 and Family gang speak to each other while standing guard at a roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborho­od of Port-au-prince, Haiti on Monday. Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Tuesday that he would be resigning.
Odelyn Joseph The Associated Press Members of the G9 and Family gang speak to each other while standing guard at a roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborho­od of Port-au-prince, Haiti on Monday. Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Tuesday that he would be resigning.

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