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Associated Press
5 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Colombia's Petro visits Haiti for a 2nd time to help bolster security as gang violence surges
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Preto arrived Friday in Haiti for the second time this year in a show of support as gangs in the troubled Caribbean country continue to gain ground. Petro announced the opening of a Colombian embassy in Haiti and pledged to help Haiti strengthen its security. Petro met with Haiti's prime minister and its transitional presidential council, which is under pressure to hold general elections before February 2026. While officials met behind closed doors, a statement from Colombia's government noted they would review bilateral projects focused on security, commerce, education, agriculture and the fight against drug trafficking. Petro's administration has offered to train Haitian officers, and Haitian delegations have visited a state-owned arms manufacturing company in Colombia to learn about its defense capabilities. The two countries are strengthening their ties as judges in Haiti continue to interrogate 17 former Colombian soldiers accused in the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse. Petro previously visited Haiti in late January, where he was received in the southern coastal city of Jacmel with much fanfare. Prior to his visit, Haitian officials invested some $3.8 million to more than double the runway at the airport in Jacmel, renovate the town and restore electricity to a population living in the dark for at least three years. This time, Petro landed in Port-au-Prince, where 90% of the capital is under gang control. He was accompanied by officials including Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez. The officials arrived less than a week after Haitian authorities killed four suspected drug traffickers and confiscated more than 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of cocaine off the country's north coast. It was a remarkable seizure for Haiti's National Police, which remains understaffed and underfunded as it works with Kenyan police leading a U.N.-backed mission to help quell gang violence. While most of the violence is centered in Port-au-Prince, gangs have razed and seized control of a growing number of towns in Haiti's central region. At least 4,864 people have been killed from October to the end of June across Haiti, with hundreds of others kidnapped, raped and trafficked, according to a recent U.N. report. Gang violence also has displaced 1.3 million people in recent years.
Scoop
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
‘An Unending Horror Story': Gangs And Human Rights Abuses Expand In Haiti
Left vulnerable, communities then formed self-defence groups and Haitian security forces reinforced their operations and made small gains only to be rebuffed again by gangs. And at all stages of this cycle, human rights violations are being committed against civilians, according to a report released on Friday by the UN office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN human rights office (OHCHR). 'Caught in the middle of this unending horror story are the Haitian people, who are at the mercy of horrific violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations from the security forces and abuses by the so-called 'self-defence' groups,' said Volker Türk, High Commissioner for Human Rights. The report also warned about 'early signs of criminal governance' in the Centre Department where gangs are beginning to consolidate their gains and act as a de facto governing authority. Four years of horror Since 2021 and the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, gang violence has dominated the capital Port-au-Prince which is now 85 per cent controlled by gangs, says the UN. Over 1.3 million Haitians have been displaced because of this violence, representing the largest displacement due to political upheaval in Haitian history. Food insecurity among displaced Haitians is rampant, with Haiti one of five countries worldwide which is experiencing famine-like conditions. As of March 2025, the violence has also expanded into previously untouched areas of the country, specifically the Artibonite and Centre Departments where 92,000 and 147,000 people have been displaced respectively. The report also noted that recently, gangs have begun to expand beyond central Haiti towards the border of the Dominican Republic, with the apparent goal of controlling key roads through which much of the illegal weapons trafficking is happening. 'The expansion of gang territorial control poses a major risk of spreading violence and increasing transnational trafficking in arms and people,' said Ravina Shamdasani, a UNHCR spokesperson at a briefing in Geneva. Human rights endangered Between October 2024 and June 2025, 4,864 people in Haiti have been killed by gang violence. At least hundreds more have been injured, kidnapped, raped and trafficked. 'Human rights abuses outside Port-au-Prince are intensifying in areas of the country where the presence of the State is extremely limited,' said Ulrika Richardson, interim Head of BINUH and UN Resident Coordinator. While many of these human rights violations – including the denial of the right to life and physical integrity, sexual violence and forced displacement — are being perpetrated by organised gangs, there are also documented human rights abuses at the hands of Haitian authorities. Specifically, between October 2024 and June 2025, there were 19 extrajudicial executions by security forces in the Artibonite and Centre Departments – 17 of them in Artibonite. Self-defence groups, which are increasingly prevalent as a result of inadequate State security, have also committed human rights violations, often in the form of lynchings of suspected gang members. 'The human rights violations and abuses that we have documented are further evidence of why Haiti and the international community urgently need to step up to end the violence,' Mr. Türk said. At this point, there have been no documented human rights abuses committed by the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission authorised by the United Nations and funded and staffed largely by Kenya. No accountability The Haitian National Police and MSS have launched multiple operations to regain territory lost to the gangs. While some have been briefly successful, the operations have been unable to maintain a lasting presence or protect local communities, according to the report. In fact, the report suggests that in the Centre, the situation is trending in the opposite direction with gangs consolidating territorial gains outside the capital and beginning to institute forms of criminal governance. As a result of this persistent insecurity, judicial operations are virtually at a standstill in the Centre and Artibonite Departments. 'The international community must strengthen its support to the authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for protecting the Haitian population,' said Ms. Richardson.
Chicago Tribune
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse assassinated
Today is Monday, July 7, the 188th day of 2024. There are 177 days left in the year. Today in History: On July 7, 2021, a squad of gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and wounded his wife in an overnight raid on their home. Also on this date: In 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C. for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln: Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt, the first woman to be executed by the federal government. In 1898, President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, approving the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii. In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (known today as Hoover Dam). In 1976, the United States Military Academy at West Point included female cadets for the first time as 119 women joined the Class of 1980. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1990, the first 'Three Tenors' concert took place as opera stars Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras performed amid the brick ruins of Rome's Baths of Caracalla on the eve of the FIFA World Cup final. In 2005, terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 people and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II. In 2010, Los Angeles police arrested and charged Lonnie Franklin Jr. in the city's 'Grim Sleeper' serial killings. (Franklin, who was sentenced to death for the killings of nine women and a teenage girl, died in prison in March 2020 at the age of 67.) In 2013, Andy Murray became the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. In 2016, Micah Johnson, a Black Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, opened fire on Dallas police, killing five officers in an act of vengeance for the fatal police shootings of Black men; the attack ended with Johnson being killed by a bomb delivered by a police robot. Today's Birthdays: Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 98. Former Beatle Ringo Starr is 85. World Golf Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin is 81. Actor Joe Spano is 79. Actor Roz Ryan is 74. Actor Billy Campbell is 66. Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson is 65. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 62. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 59. Actor Amy Carlson is 57. Actor Jorja Fox is 57. Actor Robin Weigert is 56. Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie is 53. Actor Kirsten Vangsness ('Criminal Minds') is 53. Actor Berenice Bejo (Film: 'The Artist') is 49. Actor Hamish Linklater is 49. Olympic figure skating medalist Michelle Kwan is 45. Guitarist Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold) is 44. Pop singer Ally Brooke (Fifth Harmony) (TV: 'The X Factor') is 32. Pop musician Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds to Summer) is 31. Country singer Maddie Font (Maddie and Tae) is 30.
Fox News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Violent criminal gangs have 'near-total control' of nation's capital, UN says
Haiti's criminal gangs have exerted "near-total control" over the capital, as escalating violence pushes the Caribbean nation "closer to the brink," senior U.N. officials warned Wednesday. Gangs control an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince, Ghada Fathy Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told the U.N. Security Council. Waly noted that gangs are expanding into previously peaceful areas. "Southern Haiti, which until recently was insulated from the violence, has seen a sharp increase in gang-related incidents," she said. "And in the east, criminal groups are exploiting land routes, including key crossings like Belladere and Malpasse, where attacks against police and customs officials have been reported." U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca informed the council that "the ongoing gang encirclement of Port-au-Prince" and their strengthened foothold in the capital and beyond is "pushing the situation closer to the brink." "Without increased action by the international community, the total collapse of state presence in the capital could become a very real scenario," he warned. Gangs have gained power since President Jovenel Moïse's assassination in July 2021, previously controlling 85% of the capital. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination. A new U.N. report covering last October through February highlights that gangs have exploited political turmoil and Haiti's disorganized security response, saying competing political ambitions and corruption allegations within transitional governing bodies have hindered action. "While the expansion of territorial control brings gangs additional sources of revenue and bargaining power," the U.N. experts said in the report, "these attacks are also backed by individuals trying to destabilize the political transition for their own political goals." The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Haiti in September 2024, warning Americans against visiting due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited healthcare. In May, the Trump administration designated two of Haiti's most powerful gang networks, Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Violent criminal gangs have 'near-total control' of world nation's capital, UN says
Haiti's criminal gangs have exerted "near-total control" over the capital, as escalating violence pushes the Caribbean nation "closer to the brink," senior U.N. officials warned Wednesday. Gangs control an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince, Ghada Fathy Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told the U.N. Security Council. Waly noted that gangs are expanding into previously peaceful areas. "Southern Haiti, which until recently was insulated from the violence, has seen a sharp increase in gang-related incidents," she said. "And in the east, criminal groups are exploiting land routes, including key crossings like Belladere and Malpasse, where attacks against police and customs officials have been reported." U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca informed the council that "the ongoing gang encirclement of Port-au-Prince" and their strengthened foothold in the capital and beyond is "pushing the situation closer to the brink." Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Immigration Policy In Shocking Decision On Haitian Protections "Without increased action by the international community, the total collapse of state presence in the capital could become a very real scenario," he warned. Read On The Fox News App Gangs have gained power since President Jovenel Moïse's assassination in July 2021, previously controlling 85% of the capital. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination. A new U.N. report covering last October through February highlights that gangs have exploited political turmoil and Haiti's disorganized security response, saying competing political ambitions and corruption allegations within transitional governing bodies have hindered action. Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Teams With Haitian Government To Fight Gang Violence "While the expansion of territorial control brings gangs additional sources of revenue and bargaining power," the U.N. experts said in the report, "these attacks are also backed by individuals trying to destabilize the political transition for their own political goals." The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Haiti in September 2024, warning Americans against visiting due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited healthcare. In May, the Trump administration designated two of Haiti's most powerful gang networks, Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists. Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr and The Associated Press contributed to this article source: Violent criminal gangs have 'near-total control' of world nation's capital, UN says
