(RepublicanJournal.org) – Haiti has been in chaos since a group of mercenaries assassinated President Jovenel Moïse and Prime Minister Ariel Henry took power. Local gangs, which are at odds with the new leader, have turned the nation into a battle zone. They’re now taking advantage of his recent trip out of the country, threatening to spark a full-blown civil war if the prime minister attempts to return and regain order. Gang leaders claim that peace will only return to the nation once he officially steps down.
Henry became Haiti’s acting president in 2021, but he has spent much of his time hiding from gang leaders. A rebellion broke out while the standing leader was in Kenya attempting to hurry the deployment of multinational security efforts. His whereabouts became unclear for several days, and then Henry reportedly made an attempt to fly back to Haiti from the United States.
The prime minister’s private jet never received clearance to land at the Port-au-Prince International Airport, prompting him to divert to the Dominican Republic — which neighbors Haiti on the island of Hispaniola. That landing attempt was also unsuccessful, and the acting president diverted once more to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Crime boss Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier told Henry that they could make their country either “a paradise or a hell,” but the prime minister would need to step down if he wanted to see peace. Chérizier took responsibility for recent prison raids that led to several people dying and over 4,000 Haitian inmates going free. Authorities had just convicted two other gang leaders, Eliande Tunis and Joly “Yonyon” Germine, who ran the deadly 400 Mawozo crime ring. The group has a reputation for kidnapping American missionaries and holding them for ransom.
Chérizier is calling for Henry’s immediate resignation, as well as for the international community to back off from peacekeeping efforts. He has threatened “genocide” if a civil war does break out.
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