January 2023 Port-au-Prince police killings

Last updated
January 2023 Port-au-Prince police killings
Part of the gang war in Haiti
LocationCarrefour-Feuilles and Liancourt, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
DateJanuary 10-26, 2023
Target Haitian National Police
Deaths18
Perpetrator Gan Grif (per PNH)

Between January 10 and 26, 2023, eighteen police officers were killed by Gan Grif, a gang operating in Port-au-Prince. The killings sparked riots in Port-au-Prince by Haitian police officers and police-affiliated gang Fantom 509, along with international condemnation.

Contents

Background

Since the government's de facto collapse in 2018, Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince has become a hotbed of anarchic gang activity with brutal murders and spates of killing. [1] This was exacerbated in 2021 by the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, leading most of the gangs in Port-au-Prince to ally with G9 or G-Pep. [1] During Ariel Henry's administration, following the death of Moise, seventy-eight police officers had been killed. [2]

Killings

The first killing occurred on January 10, in the Carrefour-Feuilles neighborhood. [3] Officers Denis Dempsey and Previlus Jean-Daddy were murdered by unknown perpetrators, and several other police officers were wounded in the attack. [3] On January 17, a convoy of the National Police (PNH) came under attack by gang members, killing one and injuring one more. [4] That same day, officer Joseph Jean Gardy was kidnapped. [3] Five police officers were ambushed on January 20, with three of them dying in the attack. One more was kidnapped in the attack. [3]

The largest ambush occurred at the Liancourt police station in Artibonite on January 26, when six police officers were ambushed by the Savien and Mowodwe factions of Gan Grif. [5] [6] The attack began at 7am, with a second attack occurring at 10am. [7] A seventh police officer died shortly afterward. [3] One police officer was killed in Delmas 52 the following day. [3] The PNH stated that Gan Grif still has the bodies of those killed. [2] Videos from AP showed gang members with the dismembered bodies of the officers. [8]

Protests

Protests and riots broke out on January 26 by Haitian police officers and members of Fantom 509, affiliated with the police. [9] The protesters called for the resignation of Henry, some calling for a revolution, and for a crackdown on the gangs. [2] American ambassador to Haiti Brian A. Nichols condemned the killings. [2] Around the time of the protests, unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry was arriving back in Haiti from a meeting in Miami, Florida. [7] Protesters broke into Toussaint Louverture International Airport searching for him, but he was in another section of the airport. [7] Meanwhile, protesters also broke into Henry's residence in reprisal for the attacks. [10]

The director of the union of the PNH stated that the January attacks were the largest instance of attacks against Haitian police, stating "police officers are being hunted by the gangs." [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haitian National Police</span> The law enforcement and defense force of Haiti

The Haitian National Police is the law enforcement and de facto police force of Haiti. It was created in 1995 to bring public security under civilian control as mandated in Haiti's constitution. As at 2023 the force has 9,000 active duty officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jovenel Moïse</span> President of Haiti from 2017 to 2021

Jovenel Moïse was a Haitian entrepreneur and politician, who served as the 43rd President of Haiti from 2017 until his assassination in 2021. He assumed the presidency in February 2017 after winning the November 2016 election. In 2019, Haiti experienced widespread protests and unrest. In the early morning of 7 July 2021, Moïse was assassinated, and his wife Martine was injured during an attack on their private residence in Pétion-Ville. Claude Joseph assumed the role of acting president in the aftermath of Moïse's assassination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platfòm Pitit Desalin</span> Political party in Haiti

Platfòm Pitit Desalin, named after Haitian revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines, is a Haitian political party led by Jean-Charles Moïse. As of 11 April 2018, the party had two seats in the Chamber of Deputies and one seat in the Senate. Since January 10, 2023, both houses of parliament in Haiti have been vacant. The party leader, Jean-Charles Moïse, resigned as Senator in protest of an alleged bribe of $2.5 million offered to him by allies of President Michel Martelly and in order to run for president in the 2015 presidential election. He received 14.3% of the popular vote and came in third place. In the aftermath of the election, the party played a major role in the opposition protests against eventual winner Jovenel Moïse.

On 13 November 2018, a massacre began within the La Saline slums of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. According to reports, at least 71 civilians were killed over a 24-hour period. It is alleged that the killings were either due to local gang wars or the actions of Haitian officials attempting to quell anti-corruption protests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haitian crisis (2018–present)</span> Ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis in Haiti

Protests began in cities throughout Haiti on 7 July 2018 in response to increased fuel prices. Over time, these protests evolved into demands for the resignation of Jovenel Moïse, the then-president of Haiti. Led by opposition politician Jean-Charles Moïse, protesters stated that their goals were to create a transitional government, provide social programs, and prosecute allegedly corrupt officials. From 2019 to 2021, there were massive protests calling for the Jovenel Moïse government to resign. Moïse had come in first in the 2016 presidential election, for which voter turnout was 21%. The 2015 elections had been annulled due to fraud. On 7 February 2021, supporters of the opposition against Moïse allegedly attempted a coup d'état, leading to 23 arrests, as well as clashes between protestors and police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Michel Lapin</span> Haitian politician

Jean-Michel Lapin is a Haitian politician who served as acting Prime Minister of Haiti from 2019 to 2020.

Events in the year 2021 in Haiti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of Jovenel Moïse</span> 2021 assassination of Haitian President

Jovenel Moïse, the 43rd president of Haiti, was assassinated on 7 July 2021 at 1 am EDT (UTC−04:00) at his residence in Port-au-Prince. A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, mostly Colombians, are alleged to be responsible for the killing. First Lady Martine Moïse was also shot multiple times in the attack, and was airlifted to the United States for emergency treatment. Later in the day, USGPN killed three of the suspected assassins and arrested 20 more. A manhunt was launched for other gunmen as well as the masterminds of the attack. Haitian chief prosecutor Bedford Claude confirmed plans to question Moïse's top bodyguards; none of the president's security guards were killed or injured in the attack. US authorities have since arrested eleven suspects alleged to have conspired in the assassination. Martine Moïse and Claude Joseph, who succeeded Moïse as President of Haiti, have been accused of conspiring in the assassination and were formally charged on February 19, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ariel Henry</span> Haitian politician and neurosurgeon (born 1949)

Ariel Henry is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who has served as the acting president and prime minister of Haiti since 20 July 2021, after the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse. He is also serving as the acting Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities. He became involved in a controversy due to his refusal to cooperate with the authorities over his links with Joseph-Félix Badio, one of the suspects accused of orchestrating the assassination of Jovenel Moïse on 7 July 2021. Officers who investigated the case suspected Henry was involved with planning the assassination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Chérizier</span> Haitian gang leader (born 1977)

Jimmy Chérizier, nicknamed Barbecue, is a Haitian politician, criminal gang leader, former police officer, and warlord who is the head of the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies, abbreviated as "G9" or "FRG9", a federation of over a dozen Haitian gangs based in Port-au-Prince. Known for often making public appearances in military camouflage and a beret, he calls himself the leader of an "armed revolution". He had close connections with the Haitian Tèt Kale Party and was closely allied with former Haitian president Jovenel Moïse until his assassination in 2021. Considered the most powerful gang leader and war criminal in Haiti, he is also currently believed to be one of the country's de facto most powerful political figures. He is believed to be responsible for numerous large-scale massacres against civilians in the Port-au-Prince area.

In July 2022, an outbreak of gang violence occurred in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, leaving 89 people dead and over 74 injured.

Events in the year 2022 in Haiti.

The socioeconomic and political crisis in Haiti has been marked by rising energy prices due to the 2022 global energy crisis, as well as protests, and civil unrest against the government of Haiti, armed gang violence, an outbreak of cholera, shortages of fuel and clean drinking water, as well as widespread acute hunger. It is a continuation of instability and protests that began in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gang war in Haiti</span> Civil conflict over control of Port-au-Prince

Since 2020, Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, has been the site of an ongoing gang war between two major criminal groups and their allies: the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies and the G-Pep. The Government of Haiti and Haitian security forces have struggled to maintain their control of Port-au-Prince amid this conflict, with gangs reportedly controlling up to 90% of the city by 2023. In response to the escalating gang fighting, an armed vigilante movement, known as bwa kale, also emerged, with the purpose of fighting the gangs. On 2 October 2023, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699 was approved, authorizing a Kenya-led "multinational security support mission" to Haiti.

Events in the year 2023 in Haiti. Haiti still had no president, no parliamentary quorum, and a dysfunctional high court due to a lack of judges, with another news report of violent uprisings across the country, realizing they were sent by the gangs while the other families and neighbors escape from a burning capital Port-au-Prince. The government invoked a martial law across Haiti in an effort to contain gang violence. The police and the military are forced to withdraw from their posts when their bases and police stations throughout Haiti are destroyed by more gangs who had also planted weapons in the area to provoke participation. Haiti is effectively destroyed by violence that no longer controls the island country after its long history of natural disasters and political chaos, more than three million Haitian migrants sailed to Florida in the U.S. as refugees, and black civilians in Haiti are rallying to fight back against gang corruption.

Between November 29 and 30, 2022, 20 people were killed by armed gangs in the town of Cabaret, a suburb of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

The Bel Air massacre was a series of shootings, extrajudicial killings, and massacres that took place in the Bel Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti between August 2020 and May 2021. Between August and October 2020, G9 An Fanmi e Alye members attacked Bel Air residents, with continued attacks by the affiliated Krache Dife gang. The massacres died down until March 31, whenever renewed attacks began, sparking battles with Bel Air residents who defended themselves.

Events in the year 2024 in Haiti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Haitian jailbreak</span> Storming of prisons in Haiti by armed gangs

In March 2024, armed gangs stormed the two largest prisons in Haiti, resulting in more than 4,700 inmates escaping. The gangs demanded that prime minister Ariel Henry resign. The Haitian government declared a 72-hour state of emergency and a nighttime curfew in Ouest Department in an attempt to curb the violence and chaos. On 12 March 2024, Henry indicated his intention to resign as prime minister in response to the deteriorating security situation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michel Patrick Boisvert</span> Haitian civil servant and politician

Michel Patrick Boisvert is a Haitian civil servant and politician who has served as Minister of Economy and Finance since 2020, in the cabinets of Joseph Jouthe, Claude Joseph, and Ariel Henry. Boisvert previously served as director-general of the Ministry of Economy and Finance from 2018 to 2020. Amid the February–March 2024 escalation of the gang war in Haiti, Boisvert has served as acting prime minister, overseeing the operations of Henry's government during the prime minister's absence from the country.

References

  1. 1 2 "Gangs of Haiti: Expansion, power, and an escalating crisis" (PDF). Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. October 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Haitian gangs' gruesome murders of police spark protests as calls mount for U.S., Canada to intervene - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Haiti - FLASH : 18 police officers victims of armed gangs in 16 days - HaitiLibre.com : Haiti news 7/7". www.haitilibre.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  4. ↑ "iciHaiti - PNH : Attack on a patrol car, 1 policeman killed another injured - iciHaiti.com : All the news in brief 7/7". IciHaiti.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  5. ↑ "De nouvelles victimes dans les rangs de la PNH provoquent des scènes de colère dans le pays . Le Nouvelliste". lenouvelliste.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  6. ↑ "iciHaiti - Insecurity : 6 police officers killed in clashes with the «Gran grif» gang - iciHaiti.com : All the news in brief 7/7". IciHaiti.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  7. 1 2 3 Charles, Jacqueline (January 27, 2023). "Violence erupts in Haiti during protests by police officers after gangs kill six cops". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Haitian police rebels protest is paralyzing Port-au-Prince". AP News. 2023-01-26. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  9. ↑ "Haitian police rebels protest gang killings of officers". jamaica-gleaner.com. 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  10. 1 2 Mérancourt, Widlore; Parker, Claire (2023-03-31). "Haitian police, angered by officer killings, attack PM's home, airport". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-01-22.
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