In a press article published this Tuesday, May 21, 2024, the American newspaper New York Times indicated that former president Joseph Michel Martelly would try to influence the composition of the future government and that his allies in the CPT would advocate amnesty for gangs . Maria Abi-Habib’s work exposes Dimitri Hérard and his schemes with the Izo gang while revealing the latter’s bad practices under the administration of Joseph Michel Martelly. This article summarizes the actions of gangs in the run-up to the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission.
Western diplomats and officials say the influence and capabilities of many Haitian gangs are evolving, making them increasingly threatening to the Kenyan-led multinational police force, soon to be deployed to Haiti, as well as to the fragile transition council that is trying to chart a path to elections.
With days to go before their arrival, the 2,500 police officers will face a gang force better equipped, financed, trained and unified than any mission previously deployed to the Caribbean nation, security experts say.
Once largely dependent on Haiti’s political and economic elite for funding, some gangs have found independent sources of income since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 and the subsequent collapse of the state.
“The gangs made their money through kidnapping, extortion and payments to politicians during elections and to economic elites between elections,” said William O’Neill, a UN-appointed human rights expert. for Haiti. “But the gangs are now much more autonomous and no longer need the financial support of former leaders,” he added. “They have created a monster that is spiraling out of control. »
Gangs have a more powerful arsenal than ever, according to two Justice Department officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. Since February, some gangs have acquired automatic weapons, possibly a mixture of weapons stolen from regional armies and others converted from semi-automatic rifles.
The gangs have also changed their public posture, posting videos on social media where they behave like militias with national ambitions, caring less about their usual turf wars.
Some of the Haitian gangs began working together last September, when they announced the alliance called “Vivre Ensemble,” days after the Dominican Republic closed its land border with Haiti.
The idea was to unite the gangs to overcome the obstacles that the border closure posed to their drug trafficking operations, according to two Western diplomats specializing in Haiti who were not authorized to speak publicly. But the alliance collapsed about a week after its announcement, after two tons of cocaine were stolen from Haitian gang leader Johnson André, known as Izo.
Izo’s gang, “5 Segonn” (five seconds in Creole), is considered the country’s largest cocaine trafficker, sending much of its product directly to Europe, diplomats say.
At the end of February, the “Living Together” alliance was resurrected. The gangs publicly vowed to overthrow the country’s prime minister and vowed to resist the Kenyan-led security force once deployed, calling the troops “invaders.”
Days later, the alliance stormed two prisons, freeing some 4,600 prisoners, many of whom joined their ranks. The chaos forced Haiti’s prime minister, who was out of the country, to resign.
Among the escapees was Dimitri Hérard, according to Haitian officials, the head of the security unit that protected Mr. Moïse’s presidential palace before his assassination. Mr. Hérard had ordered his forces to withdraw as mercenaries stormed Mr. Moïse’s residence. He was in jail awaiting trial on charges related to the assassination when he was released during the escape.
Mr. Hérard now helps organize and advise Izo’s gang and could provide connections to larger criminal organizations in the region, including drug cartels, according to a senior regional intelligence official and the two Western diplomats.
Mr. Hérard could not be reached for comment.
Haitian gangs appear to use weapons also used by the Gulf Clan, a Colombian cartel that operates along the country’s Caribbean coast and uses neighboring countries to smuggle cocaine. President Gustavo Petro of Colombia said last month that thousands of military weapons had been stolen and sold to armed groups, such as cartels, and may have been sent to Haiti.
Another powerful gang leader, Vitel’homme Innocent, has also been linked by authorities to Mr. Moïse’s assassination. He rented one of the cars used in Mr. Moïse’s killing, according to a Haitian police report.
Mr. Hérard was also a prime suspect in one of the largest cases ever conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Haiti. In 2015, the cargo ship MV Manzanares docked in Port-au-Prince with more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine and heroin hidden among bags of sugar.
At the time, Michel Martelly was president of Haiti and Mr. Hérard was a senior member of its presidential security force. Mr. Hérard was seen by several witnesses at the port ordering members of the presidential guard to transport the drugs off the ship and into police vehicles.
Most of the drugs in this case are gone. The witnesses were intimidated by Haitian government officials, including Jimmy Chérizier, a police officer, according to Keith McNichols, a former DEA agent who worked on the case.
Mr. Chérizier, also known as Barbecue, is now one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders and a key part of the “Vivre Ensemble” coalition.
“Gangs are increasingly linked to drug trafficking,” said the UN’s O’Neill. “And given that some former police officers like Hérard were involved in drug trafficking when Martelly came to power, it would not be surprising if gangs now tried to woo these former security officials. »
More recently, officials familiar with negotiations to name a new Haitian prime minister say Mr. Martelly has lobbied Caribbean leaders and his political allies to try to influence the makeup of the interim government.
His allies on the transition council have quietly proposed that immunity be granted to the gangs, the officials said, possibly as part of a broader amnesty for former government officials who could face corruption charges.
“I categorically deny these unfounded allegations of active interference with the transition council,” Mr. Martelly said in a statement to the New York Times, calling the accusations politically motivated. “I have never had any dealings with gangs, nor made any reference to amnesty for anyone. »
Mr. Martelly’s government, which served from 2011 to 2016, was accused of rampant corruption, including embezzling about $2 billion in aid from Venezuela. In 2022, Canada imposed sanctions against him and other Haitian politicians for protecting and supporting local gangs, “including through money laundering and other acts of corruption.”
Source: New York Times
