Flights to Haiti were halted for the second day in a row following civil unrest that broke out Thursday near the country’s main airport. If American flight cancellations were fewer on Friday, the Haitian airline Sunrise Airways canceled two flights as a precaution.
Some planes were hit by gunfire near the Port-au-Prince airport during “planned” criminal violence, according to human rights defender Pierre Espérance. Additionally, the U.S. Embassy has temporarily halted travel of official U.S. personnel to the country.
Saturday March 2, 2024 ((rezonodwes.com))–Mr. Pierre Espérance, Executive Director of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights in Haiti (RNDDH), exposed the alarming details of the latest wave of gang violence that shook the country on February 29.
According to his statements to the press, the violence was carefully orchestrated and facilitated by complicity within the police hierarchy.
Espérance specifically accused the acting director of the police, Mr. Franz Elbe, of being at the origin of this planned criminal violence. He said gangs cannot act in such a coordinated and powerful manner without the tacit, if not active, support of some members of law enforcement and those in power.
He claimed that large sums of money had been spent to enable gangs to attack Port-au-Prince’s two airports, including the small Guy Malary airport and the international airport. The leader of RNDDH indicated that no less than 23 bullet holes hit the airport, including seven in the waiting room. In addition, a police officer was hit by three bullets in the back.
For Espérance, gangs are not looking for a strong state, but rather a weak state that allows them to exist and prosper. He highlighted the fact that despite an agreement and alliance signed between the gangs in 2023, they have not respected their own commitments, and that in 2024 their power has increased considerably. He cites the example of Soudo in Kwadebuké to support his statements.
Finally, Esperance argues that the gangs could not have acted alone during this day of violence, suggesting that there was a hand behind this carefully orchestrated attack. He describes the event as planned and maneuvered, emphasizing its international impact.
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