The gangs have been around for years, but as the personal enforcers of corrupt politicians, not the rulers of vast swathes of Haiti. This started to change when, following an embezzlement scandal, Venezuela stopped petroleum trade with Haiti, throwing the nation into social and economic turmoil. Corruption, police brutality, and nationwide protests only intensified under President Jovenel Moïse. But in 2021, when Moïse was assassinated by foreign mercenaries after elections were delayed and gang violence escalated, rumors of an internal conspiracy - variously accusing gangs that felt threatened or by his successor and de facto (now de jure, following political maneuvering) Prime Minister Ariel Henry - circulated. The “Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family Allies” led by Jimmy Chérizier (AKA Barbecue/Babekyou, allegedly after his preferred murder method) accused the government of being illegitimate and declared an armed revolution and was also suspiciously active before the assassination. With the G9 gang coalition quickly extending its control over parts of Port-au-Prince by 2022, their newly formed rivals, G-Pep, vied for control of the capital with the results ultimately being inconclusive.
In response to reduced fuel subsidies, the G9 seized and blockaded the majority of Haiti’s fuel supply for two months last fall, further crippling the economy and making it difficult for public services and businesses to operate. The violence has since exploded, pitting hundreds of equally brutal, murderous, and ruthless gangs against each other and the police. Although the full brunt of the Haitian National Police was able to bring the G9 to the negotiating table, the two major coalitions and dozens or hundreds of smaller groups seem to have the upper hand overall, though no single faction has been strong enough to oust even one of the others. And even if the government falls, nobody will be in control.
Meanwhile, the fighting has created a humanitarian crisis of devastating proportions. The recently ended cholera outbreak has returned, and nearly half of the population faces acute hunger conditions. In gang territory, people avoid going outside in lieu of indiscriminate murder by rooftop snipers and roving patrols as well as constant kidnappings-for-ransom to raise revenue for arms purchases. Rapes of women, children, and LGBT people have become systemic, and gangs use terroristic violence to intimidate civilians. Economic activity is difficult (and borderline impossible sometimes) because of the omnipresent violence; the more powerful the gangs are, the worse these shortages will become. In other words, the country is on the brink of not only state failure, but epidemic and famine, with UNICEF estimating 100,000 children currently on the verge of starving to death. While the Dominican Republic is already refusing Haitians en masse on the basis of race and other nations, such as the US, continue to turn back refugees, a further estimated hundreds of thousands of refugees may yet be displaced in the coming bloodshed.
Following an incident where a dozen apprehended suspects in custody were beaten, stoned, and set on fire (not necessarily in that order) until they died, civilians angered by inaction and increasingly hellish conditions have joined the Bwa Kale movement, vigilante activists who take part in the extrajudicial killing and immolation of suspected gang members. Their lack of training, organization, and use of crude weapons like machetes and stones put both them and innocents at risk; a police officer was killed and burned in a Bwa Kale attack when mistaken for a gang soldier. These kinds of self-defense groups have led to the formation of death squads and terrorist organizations in nations such as Colombia which historically saw similar impunity among drug cartels and opposing terrorists. Whatever impact the Bwa Kale will have, the situation is getting bloodier with or without them—600 civilians died just last month.
The reaction of the international community as a whole has been one of concern, with the UN and the Haitian government repeatedly urging prompt intervention on multiple occasions. Despite this, the response of regional players has mostly been limited to tepid apathy and gawking at the misery while failing to do anything about it. The collapse of Haiti would undoubtedly cause severe security issues for the rest of the Americas, placing an unmitigated version of Somalia in a central location within the continent. Between these two positions of resolve and idleness are the Haitian people, who all remember the murky results of the UN Mission in Haiti following the forced resignation of the president (allegedly involving a French plot), but do not all experience the crisis in the same way. While many in government-controlled areas are able to protest the idea of a foreign intervention (albeit with some police violence), others yet in gang territory cannot pretend that their lives are going on as usual when they cannot access basic services or step outside their houses. The majority of both can agree, however, that the police are clearly outmatched by the gangs. Unless something drastic changes, this is a conflict that will last years or decades and cause a truly staggering death toll.
Some of this is intentionally simplified to avoid an even longer OP; however, corrections are welcome if any of this is inaccurate or outdated. With that said, is any degree of intervention justified? Is this an international issue, or just somebody else’s problem? What will happen to Haiti if the situation continues to devolve at this rate?
