In the past several weeks, I have watched dozens of sleek U.S. military planes descend over Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where I live. They were the first flights to land since gangs blockaded and halted commercial air traffic in March. U.S. news reports suggest that the aircraft contained civilian contractors and supplies to pave the way for the deployment of a Kenyan-led security mission to Haiti, which is expected to begin any day now.
But no one has informed Haitians who or what was on board. Even the members of Haiti’s new transitional government told me that they did not know precisely what the United States was flying into the country. Although the Haitian members of the presidential council have met with Kenyan and Haitian officials to discuss the force, they said they have not provided input to U.S. officials. Aides to newly installed Prime Minister Garry Conille confirmed that he has had no say on decisions related to the mission. It remains unclear what the force’s specific goals are or how it can contribute to rebuilding the Haitian state.
Looks like they’re getting ready for whatever play they intend to make against the gangs and are trying to keep exacts on the hush hush to avoid the gangs being able to make preparations.
They’re called gangs in print but it’s worth remembering that these organizations have military training and equipment at their disposal far exceeding what you’d picture when someone says the word “gang”, at this point it’d be more accurate to consider them warlord bands.
There’s something off to me about the media exclusively referring to them as gangs.
I feel like if they were in another part of the world they’d be calling them paramilitaries or militant groups.
It’s because they want to remove the political goals some of these groups have from their public narrative.
Which, you can debate how underhanded doing something like that is, or how good or bad based on what those narratives are.
You have any information about their political goals? I went looking not too long ago and I wasn’t really able to find much.
I don’t have sources but I’ve heard tell the biggest gang right now is led by a guy who guys by BBQ, and his stated goals are basically a combination of Liberation rhetoric and demanding the government submit to his authority as the legitimate transitional executive.
Yes. Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier. Former cop. Alleged to have perpetrated massacres against the public killing dozens of people and burning down hundreds of homes. As a leader of G9 he publicly threatened genocide unless the prime minister of Haiti stepped down.
This is all information I got from Wikipedia. I don’t know the veracity of any of it. I don’t live in Haiti and don’t really follow the situation there. Whoever Jimmy is, he doesn’t have very good PR. That’s all I can say for sure about him!
Sounds like his political goals are “I want all the power”
Fairly standard political goals then
According the the Haitian guy who comes in from time to time where I work his family had to leave due to the gangs. Its what he calls them so I think that is what I should call them.
It’s about fixing the narrative in the public mind. They do similar shit in almost every foreign news story, especially places, we are not supposed to like
I think that “strongmen” or maybe “warlords” is normally reserved for people who control a lot more territory than this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gang_war_in_Haiti.svg
Each group here controls tiny patches of territory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_war_in_Haiti
If we call them that then we have to call their migrants refugees and give them asylum.
Ah, there it is.