There is complete chaos in the Caribbean country – The airport is already besieged by criminal gangs

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Haiti’s main international airport, Toussaint Louverture, was the target of an attack by heavily armed gangs on Monday. The airport was closed at the time of the attack, so there were no passengers and no planes. Associated Press reporters witnessed an armored truck trying to stop the gangs on the runway. There was no official information about the success of the attack late Monday night.

There have already been minor shootings near the airport last week, and the situation has been exacerbated by armed gangs storming the country’s two largest prisons over the weekend, freeing thousands of inmates. The Haitian government declared a 72-hour state of emergency starting Sunday evening, and measures are being planned to locate the escaped prisoners.

The city of Port-au-Prince is estimated to be up to 80% controlled by gangs. These groups are working together in an increasingly coordinated manner and are attacking targets such as the Central Bank. Prime Minister Ariel Henry traveled to Kenya to ask the United Nations for help.

The security of the country of 11 million people should be ensured by only 9,000 police officers, but at the same time, corruption has taken a bite out of the law enforcement agencies as well.

From the penitentiary and prison at Croix-des-Bouquets a total of more than four thousand prisoners escaped.

Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier (who himself previously served in the elite police force) declared that he would prevent Henry from returning home and eliminate the capital’s police force.

Cover image: police officers on the streets of Port-au-Prince in 2022. The photo clearly shows that two years ago they had to fight the criminal gangs with insufficient equipment. The police officer on the right doesn’t even have a sight on his assault rifle. Front page illustration source: Guerinault Louis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images