Think of Haiti.
With extreme poverty and rampant violence, this dysfunctional situation doesn’t happen overnight—instead, it’s decades in the making.
While heavily armed rebel gangs are in the spotlight for their relentless attacks, the extreme collapse of society is caused by a thoroughly corrupt political elite.
Haiti’s last democratically elected leader was President Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated on July 7, 2021, in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry has since extended his “transitional powers” until he is unable to return home amid a wave of gang attacks abroad.
When the situation on the ground deteriorated, elegant leaders negotiated a political solution abroad in the CARICOM regional community.
Their political solution did not take into account the realities on the ground, and, when they tried to implement it, it was impossible not to recognize that various unelected elites vying for political power were part of the problem.
In the words of ex-cop and current gang insurrection leader Jimmy Cherichier (aka Barbecue): “It’s not just the gun owners who are harming the country, it’s the politicians as well.”
Gangs exchanged gunfire with police for hours in neighborhoods near the main international airport.
The Associated Press reported:
“An armored police car patrolled the street, past charred vehicles and a cinderblock wall on which someone had scrawled ‘Viv Barbecue,’ the Haitian Creole name for ‘Viv Barbecue.’ One of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders.
[…] [Chérizier] and other gang leaders are accused of responsible for coordinated attacks that began on February 29 in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Gunmen burned down a police station, opened fire on the main international airport and attacked two of Haiti’s largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates.
The attacks eventually forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign and led to the creation of a transitional presidential council, most of whose members unexpectedly announced a new prime minister on Tuesday: former sports minister Fritz Belizard. The move could undermine the nine committee members who were sworn in last week.
Yes, you read that right. Just a week after the unelected transitional council was formed, they are already at war with each other.
Haitian citizens are demanding a return to normalcy, and rebel gangs, still more powerful and better-equipped than the Haitian National Police, have not been included in any negotiations.
Fox News:
“A surprising announcement reveals Haiti’s new prime minister has threatened to dismantle the recently established transitional council tasked with selecting a new leader for the gang-ridden Caribbean nation.
Four of the seven voting council members said Tuesday they had chosen Fritz Belizard as prime minister, a statement and an unexpected political alliance that surprised many Haitians.
Council members who opposed Belizard are now weighing their options, including opposing the decision or resigning from the council. Minister of Sports.
Some council members are reportedly considering other options as potential chancellors.
The committee plans to hold elections and choose a chairperson. But not only was a council president elected, but a new prime minister was also elected.
“A document shared by The Associated Press and signed by the four council members who choose the new prime minister said they agreed to make the decision by consensus. The document is titled “Constitution of the Indivisible Majority Group within the Presidential Council” ”.
The committee must prepare for eventual elections, but most of its members are senior politicians, and several analysts have pointed out that some of the political parties on the committee are the same ones responsible for the current chaos in Haiti.
Michael Deibert, author: “The commission is dominated by the same political trends that have pushed Haiti to the brink over the past 25 years, using poor young people in the favelas as political cudgels – inflated by proceeds from kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking and other crimes. Activities – These groups outgrow the needs of their patrons.
read more:
Haiti hell: Unelected ‘transitional council’ elects second interim prime minister in a week as gang rebels demand political participation
