Latest news with #OloffsonHotel
New York Times
12-07-2025
- General
- New York Times
Corrections: July 12, 2025
An article on Wednesday about the Oloffson Hotel in Haiti being burned to the ground last Saturday misstated the nationality of the family that took over the hotel. The family, the Oloffsons, were German-Haitian, not Norwegian-Haitian. An article on July 5 about the ways that Yemeni cafes are building momentum and community misspelled the first name of a commercial real estate investor. He is Don Tepman, not Dan. An article this weekend on Page 6 about New Jersey Transit's locomotive 4207, the oldest in regular passenger service in the entire country, misstated the name of the NJ Transit maintenance site. It is the Meadows Maintenance Complex, not the Meadowlands Maintenance Complex. Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions. To contact the newsroom regarding correction requests, please email nytnews@ To share feedback, please visit Comments on opinion articles may be emailed to letters@ For newspaper delivery questions: 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) or email customercare@
New York Times
07-07-2025
- New York Times
A Hotel Made Famous by Graham Greene Is a Victim of Haiti's Violence
One of Haiti's most renowned landmarks, the Oloffson Hotel, noted for its ornate wooden facade and celebrity guests, including the novelist Graham Greene, has become the latest victim of the country's destructive spiral. The hotel was 'burned to the ground' in an apparent arson attack on Saturday night, Richard Morse, the hotel's Haitian American owner and manager, said in a telephone interview on Monday from his home in Maine. The destruction, he added, was confirmed by friends in Haiti and by drone footage showing the smoldering shell of the building, which had stood for more than a century, just a short walk from the center of the capital, Port-au-Prince. While details about who was behind the fire remained unclear, the neighborhood has been convulsed by violence from gangs that now control most of Port-au-Prince. The hotel's wooden latticework, turrets and spires made it a classic example of the gingerbread Caribbean architectural style of homes that adorned some older residential parts of Haiti's capital. 'I can't describe the sadness and rage about the destruction of our patrimony,' Frederick Mangonès, a Haitian architect, said about the loss of the Oloffson. 'There's no respect for human life or history.'' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Euronews
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Haiti police vow to ramp up fight against gangs after fresh attacks in the capital
More than 1 million people have been displaced by the violence, with gangs in control 85% of Port-au-Prince, according to a UN human rights expert. ADVERTISEMENT Police in Haiti have vowed to ramp up the fight against escalating gang violence after fresh attacks in the capital this week, which forced dozens of families to flee their homes. Authorities evacuated students at a school in western Port-au-Prince following heavy gunfire in the area near the renowned Oloffson Hotel. Meanwhile, posts circulated on social media about a group of priests trapped inside a church in the capital's Carrefour-Feuilles neighbourhood, which was attacked by the Viv Ansanm gang coalition late on Tuesday. "They're trying to take more areas, but police are there, making sure that doesn't happen," Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesman for Haiti's national police, told a press conference on Wednesday. Police have new plans to fight the gangs that already control 85% of Haiti's capital, according to Lazarre, who declined to provide further details due to safety reasons. Lazarre said police recently seized 10,000 bullets, weapons and drugs from a minibus in the town of Mirebalais, northeast of the Port-au-Prince. Two of the four people carrying the ammunition were lynched by a mob on Sunday, while the others escaped, he added. The latest attacks come just days after William O'Neill, the UN's human rights expert on Haiti, visited the Caribbean country and said gang violence was more dire than ever. "These violent criminal groups continue to extend and consolidate their hold even beyond the capital," he said. "They kill, rape, terrorise, set fire to homes, orphanages, schools, hospitals, places of worship." O'Neill said more than 1 million people have been displaced, with nowhere to go. In makeshift camps, he said, hunger and sexual violence are widespread and "for many, it's a matter of survival". He urged Haitian authorities to beef up the police force — which numbers 9,000 to 10,000 in a country of 11 million people — compared with about 50,000 in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, which has a similar population. O'Neill also called for a reinforcement of the Kenya-led multinational force, which started arriving in June and numbers about 1,000 police. He said a well-equipped force of 2,500 "could have an enormous impact on controlling, dismantling, overpowering the gangs". On Tuesday, the US extended its ban on flights to Haiti's capital until 8 September because of the gang violence. The announcement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) extends a ban on US flights to Port-au-Prince that began in November after gangs opened fire on three commercial planes. The initial ban was set to expire on Wednesday.
Arab Times
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Gangs unleash new attack on Haiti's capital as police vow to hold them back
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 13, (AP): A powerful gang coalition has launched new attacks on Haiti's capital, driving dozens of families from homes as police vowed Wednesday to hold the gunmen back. Authorities evacuated students at a Catholic school in western Port-au-Prince as heavy gunfire continued in the area near the renowned Oloffson Hotel, which once attracted international celebrities in the 1970s and '80s. Meanwhile, cries for help emerged on social media for a group of priests trapped inside a church in the Carrefour-Feuilles neighborhood, which endured much of the attack by the Viv Ansanm gang coalition that began late Tuesday. "They're trying to take more areas, but police are there, making sure that doesn't happen,' Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesman for Haiti's National Police, told a press conference. He said police have new plans to fight gangs that already control 85% of Haiti's capital, but declined to provide details, citing safety reasons. Lazarre noted that police recently seized 10,000 bullets, weapons and drugs from a minibus in the town of Mirebalais, northeast of Port-au-Prince. He said two of the four people carrying the ammunition were lynched by a mob on Sunday, while the others escaped. The latest attacks come days after William O'Neill, the UN's human rights expert on Haiti, visited the troubled Caribbean country. "The risk of the capital falling under gang control is palpable," O'Neill said Tuesday, even as Haitian police work with a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to help quell gang violence. O'Neill and others have called for a reinforcement of the mission, which the U.S. has said lacks funding and personnel. Last year, more than 5,600 people were reported killed across Haiti. Gang violence has left more than one million homeless in recent years.
Washington Post
13-03-2025
- Washington Post
Gangs unleash new attack on Haiti's capital as police vow to hold them back
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A powerful gang coalition has launched new attacks on Haiti's capital, driving dozens of families from homes as police vowed Wednesday to hold the gunmen back. Authorities evacuated students at a Catholic school in western Port-au-Prince as heavy gunfire continued in the area near the renowned Oloffson Hotel, which once attracted international celebrities in the 1970s and '80s.
