Key Moments In Haiti’s Recent History As Gang Conflict Worsens

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HAITI – Haiti’s troubles have lasted for centuries but more recently a series of events has pushed the country closer to the brink of collapse.

On January 12th 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck with an epicenter only 16 miles west of the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince, reportedly killing over 300,000 people and injuring another 300,000.

But of course, it also destroyed much of the capital itself, leaving nearly 1.5 million people homeless in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The situation only worsened with the passing of category four Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

Jovenel Moïse’s position as president of Haiti was tumultuous from the beginning. His initial victory in 2015 was called into question and eventually annulled when the election was called fraudulent by some. While he was elected again in an election held over a year later, the trouble did not end there.

Just two years later in 2018, hundreds of Haitians took to the streets of the capital marching against government corruption- much of their anger targeted specifically at President Moise.

This all came to a head when the president was assassinated and his wife badly wounded, in the wee hours of July 7th 2021, after a large group of gunmen attacked his residence. 

That assassination only worsened the already muddied political waters of the country. Last month, Moise’s widow, ex-Prime Minister Claude Joseph, and Haiti’s former Chief of Police Leon Charles were indicted in his murder.

Just two weeks after Moise’s assassination, the Haitian government formally appointed Ariel Henry as prime minister.

Violence took the spotlight again, in April last year, when locals in Port-au-Prince lynched ten suspected gang members. 

Last September, the country’s most powerful gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, urged Haitians to take to the streets and overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s unelected government. 

The fear of governments being left unchecked may be residual from the Duvalier years where François Duvalier and Jean-Claude Duvalier, also known as “Papa Doc” and “Baby Doc”, held on to power through sham elections and intimidation, including death squads for almost 30 years.

In a statement released this week, Cherizer says Haitians must be left to determine the way forward and further international intervention will plunge the country deeper into chaos.