The Capital

PM said to be in Puerto Rico as gangs, violence rock Haiti

- By Evens Sanon and Joshua Goodman

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — It’s the one question on the minds of all Haitians ever since armed gangs plunged the long-suffering Caribbean nation into near anarchy: Where is Prime Minister Ariel Henry?

The embattled leader, who assumed power following the 2021 assassinat­ion of President Jovenel Moïse, has been notably absent since the country’s most serious outbreak of violence started last week. Henry has stayed silent as he crisscross­es the world, from South America to Africa, with no announced date of return.

Meanwhile, armed groups have seized on the power void. They tried to take control of Haiti’s main internatio­nal airport Monday and exchanged gunfire with police and soldiers. The explosion of violence also included a mass escape from the country’s two biggest prisons.

Even a decree declaring a state of emergency and curfew to restore order lacked Henry’s imprint. It was signed by his finance minister, who is serving as acting prime minister.

“It’s the million-dollar question,” said Jake Johnston, a research associate at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. “Nobody knows where he is or when he’ll return.”

By Tuesday afternoon, the mystery seemed to ease after officials said Henry landed in Puerto Rico on his way back to Haiti.

Officials said Henry arrived at the Luiz Muñoz Marín Internatio­nal Airport in the capital of San Juan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

Henry was expected to travel to the Dominican Republic later to fly to Haiti, but hours before he arrived in Puerto Rico, the Dominican government announced that it was suspending all air traffic with Haiti.

Gangs opened fired on police late Monday outside the Toussaint Louverture Internatio­nal Airport in the Haitian capital of Port-auPrince, where Henry would likely land should he return home.

The airport was closed when the attack occurred, with no planes operating and no passengers on site. It remained closed Tuesday.

Schools and banks were also closed Tuesday, and public transport ground to a standstill.

“Haiti is now under the control of the gangs. The government isn’t present,” said Michel St-Louis, 40, standing in front of a burned-down police station in the capital.

While Haiti’s problems defy any quick fix, Henry himself is increasing­ly unpopular. His inability to govern effectivel­y has stoked calls for him to step aside that the gangs are also embracing, if only to advance their own criminal interests, Johnston said.

Henry was last seen Friday in Kenya on a mission to salvage a multinatio­nal security force the east African nation was set to lead under the auspices of the U.N. He left Haiti more than a week ago to attend a meeting of Caribbean leaders in Guyana, where a deadline was announced — by others, not Henry — to delay repeatedly postponed elections. The balloting was pushed back to mid-2025.

That announceme­nt is what appears to have triggered the latest explosion of violence. It began with a direct challenge from a powerful gang leader, Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who fashions himself as a Robin Hood crusader. Chérizier said he would target government ministers in an effort to prevent Henry’s return and force his resignatio­n.

“With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country,” he said in a video message announcing the offensive.

He appeared to make good on that threat over the next few days as gangs launched attacks on the central bank, the airport, even the national soccer stadium.

The culminatio­n of the coordinate­d offensive came over the weekend when a jailbreak at the National Penitentia­ry and another prison released onto the streets of the capital more than 5,000 inmates, many of whom had been serving time for murder, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

 ?? ODELYN JOSEPH/AP ?? Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, known as Barbecue, speaks to the media Tuesday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He fashions himself as a Robin Hood crusader.
ODELYN JOSEPH/AP Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, known as Barbecue, speaks to the media Tuesday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He fashions himself as a Robin Hood crusader.

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