Gangs rule Haiti’s capital. Now angry citizens say they’re ready to revolt
Haiti’s government has imposed a state of emergency and a curfew amid surging gang violence and a deadly gang assault on the capital’s main prison that allowed thousands of inmates to escape The US embassy in Haiti is urging citizens to leave the country. Haiti has been engulfed in turmoil for years, as our CNN’s David Culver explains So we’re like a block away. Yeah, it’s as close as we can get driving. So we layer up in reverse and walk. Oh, yeah, you can already smell it. Yeah. Well, look at people still making their commute as tires are
burning right in the middle of the street here. No police barricade, no firefighters. Most seemingly unfazed. These flames have been burning for several hours. Haiti has been engulfed in turmoil for years. We don’t have a home to live and we don’t have food. That’s what they’re shouting. So many here now fear their country is on the brink of exploding. They don’t feel safe right now. No, no, no, it doesn’t. Yes, it doesn’t. My daughter is broken right now. These folks blame the current government and Prime Minister Ariel Omri appointed following the assassination of President Jovenel
Moise in 20, 21. They want only to go. But he says he’s not yet ready to step down. This as panicked street shootouts like this one
the kidnapers efforts to protect families and preserve innocence. That innocence shattered for others. This 14 year old says he was recruited by a gang at 11. Tells me he’s often forced to burn the bodies of those killed by other gang members. I learned that you still want to change my way of life, he says with a heavy look of shame. At an early morning food distribution. We meet dozens of women who have felt the wrath of gang violence. At times, we notice Alastair in their eyes. All of them have been victims. So there’s nobody here
who has not been affected. This woman’s sister shot and killed. This one’s husband burned alive inside their home. This woman tells us she was raped. She shows us the marks left behind. In recent months, gangs have seized more and more control over this country, including the roads leading to Port au Prince. Officials estimate that gangs now control as much as 80% of the capital. Even the U.S. Embassy and International Airport are mostly surrounded by rival gang territories. It’s led the Haitian National Police to create an undercover unit. We go with them to the front lines.
This unit actually goes into gang areas, looks for gang members and fights them. The officers ask us not to reveal our exact location and they tell us to work quickly. Given we’re standing exposed on a windy hillside, as police have described it to me, basically everything behind me is occupied by the gangs. It’s under their control. There are homes all around us. We’re standing on the foundation of one home that had been abandoned. They offered to drive us closer And you can see they’re getting ready. Yes, our drivers are all geared up now, ready for
potential gunfire that come our way. Stay away from the windows as we come in here. They describe this as the last offensive point and beyond. Here is what they consider to be their front lines. From here, you can see the battlefield. No signs of any suspected gang members. For now, police are not the only ones trying to gain the upper hand here in a fractured state. Alternatives to the gangs and government surface. We’re headed to meet a commander of Bishop Haiti’s Armed Environmental Protection Agency that has splinter from the only government challenging its legitimacy We
pull up to a gated compound. The man in the purple shirt leads us in. He then changes into his boot camp uniform. It’s the commander. He’s in hiding from police. His message echoes. The anti-government protester took the revolution. He flexes biceps strength in numbers and its potential to help bring stability. But when it comes to his own family, you mentioned you have four kids. What do you think their future is in this country? He fears there a future is best served leaving Haiti. The desperation is felt beyond Port-Au-Prince. In places like Jeremy, the U.N. chopper
is the safest way to get there. It’s about an hour ride. Members of the World Food Program take us through this rural coastal community devastated by recent protests Right back there, you had five people were killed last week. Right there it was right there. We arrive at this agricultural consortium. The WFP buys food from these local farmers to then hand out. But the recent protests have blocked distribution efforts, leaving some food to spoil. It’s frustrating for the WFP officials as they know you don’t have to look far to find hunger here. These farmers pointing to
their stomachs, lifting their shirts to us. If you’re hungry, a lot of folks will look at Haiti and they’ll say it’s had issues for so long. The question that no doubt people in the US will ask is, well, why should we help? Well, there are two reasons why you need to help. First of all, there on humanitarian grounds, but then there’s also early self-interest in the US. So the longer you wait to act on Haiti, the more migrants there will be on our southern border. It’s that simple. Many here search for normalcy where they can’t.
Even with the threat of violence. Missing mass for some is not an option. They wear their Sunday best and unite in prayer Places of worship are not immune from gang terror, but they at least offer a moment of tranquility and hope. For now, And David Culver joins us now live from Los Angeles. David, just really an incredible piece there. What can you share with us about what the latest is on the ground? We know, of course, over the weekend there. There was a massive prison break. I mean, what’s the latest you can tell us about
how we ended that piece there with the moment of Tranquility and Hope? It’s been shattered over the past 72 hours. What we have seen is a surge in the violence there. You mentioned that prison outbreak, two prisons in particular were targeted there by gangs. And according to Haitian police, I mean, this could be a game changer in sustaining any sort of stability that’s left because this outbreak has included what they believe to be more than 3000 inmates who have gotten out. But beyond that, you’re looking at a country, if we take a step back here
that has been dealing with natural disasters political turmoil, all of this in recent years. And people there that, as you saw in that piece, really say that they want to have their own choice in things and their own leadership. And right now, there’s a leader, a prime minister, area owner who has been appointed. They have not had elections since 2016. The honorary government says the reason they have not had elections is because of the instability that we pointed out there. You’ve got dozens of gangs and you see some of these images that we’re airing from
the past weekend that have basically taken over the entire country. And now what’s really concerning real is just in the past 72 hours these gangs are starting to coordinate with each other. And so that suggests that there’s this united front now that’s really going to make things difficult for police. Yeah. And even more difficult for for Haitians. And I just thought it was so, so striking. Just your interview with the young boy, the 14 year old talking to some of the parents. Let me ask you. But you have reported from Haiti before. How different does
this unrest feel from what you have witnessed before? Well, from what we just saw on the ground, just in the past couple of weeks when we were there, what we are seeing now in this kind of goes along with even as we were planning for this trip, is that today going there is safer than tomorrow. And those are the words from one contact on the ground when I was trying to figure out, okay, when when should we logistically get on the ground where we initially planning this trip. And that suggests that you really cannot understate
the dire situation that’s happening. And it’s not only from a violence perspective, but just a humanitarian one. You heard that gentleman there with the World Food Program. Explain to us that this is beyond trying to help Haiti. This is trying to sustain regionally what could be another country that if it falls into shambles, which really Haiti right now is a broken state, you then have a people who are so desperate they’re going to go elsewhere. And we’ve already seen that having covered immigration at the border the number of Haitians that have been trying to come
over has increased significantly in recent years. And the warning is that that’s going to continue because, quite frankly, they have nowhere else to go Just just incredible reporting. David Culver, thank you so much for bringing it to us here. David, thanks.
