UN Chief Visits Haiti Amid Record Gang Violence Crisis
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres visited Haiti on June 16 to assess the worsening gang violence crisis, where 2,300 people have been killed this year and over 300,000 displaced. A new international gang-suppression force from multiple nations is being deployed to combat the violence.
Crisis in Crisis
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres visited Haiti on Tuesday, where surging gang violence has left more than 1 in 10 people homeless. New statistics released by the U.N. reveal that 2,300 people have been killed across Haiti so far this year, with another 100 kidnapped, while 1.5 million have been displaced.
Scale of Displacement
The displaced total more than 300,000 people across Port-au-Prince — a record. Guterres traveled past dozens of Haitians who fled the clashes and now live in makeshift homes under large pieces of canvas strung up with frayed rope. "Haiti's displacement crisis is entering an even more alarming phase," according to Gregoire Goodstein, IOM chief of mission in Haiti.
International Response
Jamaica, Chad, El Salvador and Guatemala have deployed troops that number less than 1,000 to form part of the growing gang-suppression force, which is due to start operating soon. The new force replaces a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police that aimed to help Haiti's National Police fight gangs but remained underfunded and understaffed.
Key Challenges
Among those abducted is James Boyard, cabinet director of the Defense Ministry, who was kidnapped last week in one of the few relatively safe areas of the capital. Prime Minister Alix Didier-Fils-Aimé is under pressure to hold elections in the country of nearly 12 million people that hasn't had a president since Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021.