Overwhelmed by events, several police officers assigned to the national penitentiary abandoned the space on March 2, 2024, two agents on the ground confirm for AyiboPost
The national penitentiary, the largest prison in Haiti, has been under sustained attack for several hours, this Saturday, March 2, 2024. According to the testimonies of two police officers, several agents abandoned the space in the afternoon, on the sidelines of a violent attack by bandits.
Prisoners are now finding themselves on the streets, according to one of the agents, who says they are waiting for confirmation from the prison authorities. AyiboPost has not independently verified its statement. Appeals to the prison system authorities were unsuccessful, amid great confusion.
The bandits set fire around the prison center and continue their advances.
“It’s dark and the armored vehicles said they couldn’t take it anymore», declares a police officer nearby. “Most of the police officers had already fled the prison to take refuge at the Departmental Directorate of the West on the Champs de Mars,” he said.
“The plan to attack the penitentiary was known in the morning,” says another police officer.
The national penitentiary, the largest prison in Haiti, has been under sustained attack for several hours on March 2, 2024.
At 8:57 p.m., automatic weapons fire still resonates in the vicinity of the prison where most of the individuals accused of their participation in the murder of former president, Jovenel Moïse, are found on July 7, 2021.
This attack comes on the sidelines of the reformation of a coalition of gangs called “Viv ansanm”, under the leadership of former police officer Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue. Since the announcement, Toussaint Louverture airport, the country’s largest, as well as several important infrastructures have been attacked.
During an attack perpetrated on February 29 against the Bon Repos Sub-Commissariat, several police officers were assassinated, according to a note from the Haitian National Police (PNH). Images of at least three police officers being torn to pieces with machetes were widely shared on WhatsApp.
Furthermore, AyiboPost confirms from a source that a van filled with banknotes coming from abroad from the Bank of the Republic of Haiti was attacked by bandits.
Built on the site of a former cemetery, the national penitentiary has been in the heart of the capital since 1770.
More than 80% of Haiti’s 11,400 detainees are in pretrial detention, in overcrowded cells where they often die of starvation.
Widlore Mérancourt is editor-in-chief of AyiboPost and a regular contributor to the Washington Post. He holds a master’s degree in media management from the University of Lille and a bachelor’s degree in legal sciences. He was Content Manager of LoopHaïti.
